A high-powered delegation from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission and government officials from Nigeria arrived in Sierra Leone on a visit to the Sierra Leonean president and government to show solidarity with the people and government and offer support for the government’s efforts to restore calm after the military breach in the country on Monday, November 27.
Tensions remain high across the country, with many streets in the capital, Freetown, empty after a 24-hour curfew was relaxed to a dusk-to-dawn lockdown.
President Julius Maada Bio, in his Twitter (now X) account announced the visit, describing it as a “tremendous outpouring of support from key allies around the region and world.”
His statement read; “this afternoon, I received a high-powered delegation from the ECOWAS Commission and the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, including, Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, Nigeria’s Chief of Defense Staff, General Christopher Musa, Chief of Defence Military Intelligence Major General Emmanuel Udiandeye, and President of the ECOWAS_CEDEAO, Dr Omar Alieu Touray, among others.
“They conveyed a message of solidarity from the Chairman of the ECOWAS Committee of Heads of State and President of #Nigeria, His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu as well as that of the other ECOWAS Heads of State and Government.”
He said the delegation assured of their readiness to work with the Sierra Leonean government towards forestalling any future security threats to the state.
“We shall continue to work towards preserving and promoting the priceless peace that we have enjoyed as a country since the end of our unfortunate decade-long civil war 21 years ago”, Bio said.
Not much details have been given about the identities or intentions of the attackers or those killed, though former President Ernest Bai Koroma said one of his military guards was killed on duty at his residence in the capital while another was taken away.
Sierra Leone’s information minister and army spokesperson have said soldiers were among those responsible for Sunday’s attack, a revelation that suggests that the recent political tensions, which trailed the general elections in the country, may have penetrated the armed forces.
The Associated Press (AP) reports that in interviews with local media, some of the attackers said their objective was “to clean up the system,” not to target civilians.
“Their primary objective happens to be breaking into the arms and ammunition store, and they were able to cater away some huge amounts which they scattered around in the capital,” the AP reported Abdul Fatorma, a Sierra Leonean analyst and chief executive of the Campaign for Human Rights Development International, as saying.
Some local sources also suggest that the attacks may have been influenced by the military coups in the Sahel and facilitated by the illicit proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons, exacerbated by porous borders across West Africa.
