By: Lebah Sorie Gibateh
With no major damage to the doors, a suspect charged with unlawful possession of a gun and attempted murder waiting to be conveyed to Kabala has reportedly escaped from police cell at the Mongo Division in Falaba District for the second time in a row.
Yibba Kamara had been rounded up and handed over to the Sierra Leone Police by a military officer for attacking and attempting to kill one Abu Konta Marah for the third time in Mongo Bendugu Town.
According to the Crime Officer, Inspector AJH Sesay, the suspect was in their custody until Wednesday 13 January 2021 when they noticed “his miraculous disappearance” from their custody.
Inspector Sesay blamed the Division’s lack of a functioning vehicle to convey the charged suspect to Kabala to appear in court.
However, on 17 January other suspects involved in timber trafficking cases were charged and conveyed to Kabala.
The complainant, Abu Konta Marah, accused the police of influencing the matter. He alleged that the suspect is the brother of a police officer attached to the same Division, an allegation the Local Unit Commander, CSP Edward Yamba was quick to deny. He said they had given community stakeholders and the suspect's family time to produce him, an opportunity which he said they had already exhausted.
Yibba was alone in his police cell when he escaped and his consecutive getaway has raised eyebrows but also concern for the safety of the complainant who lives in the community.
Moreover, residents have called for the speedy establishment of a Magistrate Court in the district instead of having to take accused persons to Kabala, a 75-mile distance on a rough terrain to appear in court to also address the prevalence of gender and sexual-based violence and other crimes in the district.
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