By Alusine Kamara
The Police Division in Makeni City, northern Sierra Leone, has declared one Hamidu Bah, wanted on the allegations of riotous conduct and destruction of government properties.
Bah, was alleged to be part of the August 10th 2022 riot saga across the country which led to the death of many civilians and law enforcement security personnel in Freetown and other parts of the country.
It was further alleged that, Bah played a great role in the riot by organising other youth to come out to join the protest, attacking and killing one police officer in Makeni City.
It could be recalled that on the 8th, 9th and 10th of August 2022, violent protests sprouted from various parts of Sierra Leone which disturbed the peace and stability of the State.
The protest which was called for by an unknown group called the People’s Power in Politics (PPP), was an uprising against President Julius Maada Bio led government for various reasons including unemployment, marginalisation, economic hardship and food insecurity in the country.
However, more than 20 protesters and bystanders, and six police officers, were killed during violent protests and over 515 people were arrested and prosecuted for offences ranging from malicious damage, arson, unlawful procession, riotous conduct, seditious behaviour to murder after the protest.
Speaking to this medium a week after the incident, Ibrahim Bah, father of Hamidu Bah narrated that on the day of the incident he was at home when he was informed that his son had been arrested and beaten badly by the police.
“I immediately went to the police station where I met my son in an unconscious condition with his hand broken. I confronted the police that my son was going to die if medical attention was not given to him immediately,” he said.
He said he was allowed to take his son to the hospital for medical treatment, noting that a week later whilst his son was still attending to medical treatment, he got information that an arrest warrant had been issued for his son.
“One morning, a van of police officers stormed my residence asking the whereabouts of my son and threatened to arrest me if I did not tell them where my son was. One of the police officers openly threatened to harm my son if he sees him because they have noticed that he is one of the youth who are causing problems in Makeni City,” he said.
He further narrated that the following morning he heard that his son’s friend by the name of Hassan S. Dumbuya aka Evangelist Samson has been killed by the police.
According to Ibrahim Bah his eldest son was killed in a protest in 2020 during the protest incident of the relocation of a standby 1.65 Megawatts Generator Plant from Makeni to Lungi International Airport in Port Loko District, North West Region and now the police is issuing arrest warrant for his other son and have started shooting and killing some of his friends.
