AYV News, August 21, 2024
A military court in Sierra Leone has found the 18th Accused Soldier, Lance Corporal Abu Bakarr Koroma (aka Opanday) Not Guilty by reason of Certified Insanity.
In January, Lance Corporal Abu Bakarr Koroma was among soldiers charged with Mutiny and Murder before Sierra Leone’s Court Martial in the capital Freetown over their alleged role in a botched coup attempt in November last year.
The Court Martial proceedings against the first batch of 27 military personnel involved in the November 26, 2023 coup concluded yesterday, August 20, 2024.
Following the closing submissions on August 8, the trial of the 18th accused, Opanday, was adjourned due to a medical emergency while the others were sentenced.
The Court Martial Board was dissolved immediately after the conclusion of Koroma’s trial. The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that a new board will be constituted next month to try a second batch of 15 accused military personnel, including five fugitives recently extradited from Guinea.
These fugitives, all commissioned officers, were initially arrested for subversion in July 2023 but escaped custody and joined the coup plotters. They were apprehended in Guinea in June 2024.
The November 26 coup resulted in the deaths of security personnel and civilians. The assailants also released over 2,200 inmates from the country’s two main prisons.