SECURITY SECTOR PRESS CONFERENCE ON THREATENING SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS AND MESSAGES CREATING FEAR AND PANIC IN THE COUNTRY – A STATEMENT BY THE NATIONAL SECURITY COORDINATOR, MR. ABDULAI CAULKER, DATED WEDNESDAY, 19TH APRIL, 2023
Salutation:
1.As a people, our country will be in total chaos if we do not have the courage to resist the incitements of bad citizens in the social media whose desperation and lust for political power have blinded them to the benefits and comforts of stability and peaceful co-existence. For them, even if it means sinking Sierra Leone and destroying all of its population to get political power, it would be a viable option.
2.Since 2018 when this present government assumed office, the security sector has noted with dismay that there have been countless numbers of anti-state activities tantamount to undermining the peace and security of Sierra Leone and unnecessarily provoking security sector reactions. Whilst the security sector had wished such baits had not been thrown, it would not shy away from its constitutional responsibility of ensuring that citizens’ lives and properties are secure and the country remains stable.
3.Violent incidents such as the ones in Tombo at the height of Corona when fishermen revolted against safety health measures; in Lunsar over youths accusing their Paramount Chief of embezzlement; in Makeni over the relocation of a government generator to Lungi which was in dire need of electricity; in Mile 91 over lawful police operations to destroy marijuana farms; the Pademba Road Prison break; August 10 violent protest; etc. had all been evidently incited by social media trolls, the likes of Adebayor and their clandestine political godfathers. In case the security sector had failed to act during those incidents, what would Sierra Leone have become? Those incidents could have potentially led to anarchy, capable of totally disrupting the hard-won peace of Sierra Leone, and possibly tearing her apart.
4.The latest incident of the brutal killing of the OSD Coordinator in Makeni, Mathew Banya (alias Boyka), and the accompanying social media utterances and provocations fashioned against the stability of the state and the security sector are worrisome and may put our people in needless fear and panic. All these are happening at a time when we are less than two and a half months away from the general elections. The security sector is not jittery and cannot be intimidated. It alone has the constitutional right to exercise the monopoly of violence on behalf of the state, and no one else.
5.We have decided to have an inclusive approach to ensuring Sierra Leone remains stable and peaceful, and the enabling environment created for peaceful and democratic elections.
6.Therefore, we have thought it necessary to call this press conference to give out a clear message, which is: Sierra Leoneans, stay away from violence; don’t take the law into your own hands, follow due process. Don’t allow another man to use your own hand to remove palm kernels from a burning furnace.
7.We invite all political party leaders, moral guarantors, traditional and religious leaders, press and media houses, women’s forum, peace networks, teachers, parents, guardians, youth groups, civil society organizations and members of the international community to underscore a need for nonviolence elections and support efforts geared towards making Sierra Leone stable and peaceful.
8.As a security sector, we will not renege on our sacred responsibility to maintain law and order and ensure that there is peace and tranquility for everyone to go about their normal business. Any person or a group of persons who believe that for their own greed and selfishness they can make Sierra Leone unstable and ungovernable, they are big liars. The security sector will use all in its power to strongly resist and impel them.
9.The security sector is ready and will ensure that forthcoming general election are conducted devoid of violence and intimidation. The MACP will be robustly enforced during and after those elections.
10.Let this message be circulated.
Thank you all.
Eid-Ul Mubarak.
