Reports reaching this medium revealed that the Publisher of the Elephant Newspaper, who also happened to be the whistle blower of a rape case in Kenema involving an Islamic cleric, was on Thursday 17th March brutalized by some 6 police officers in the presence of the Local Unit Commander, Morie M. Kamara.

According to our source, the publisher had returned to Kenema to attend a private civil suit at the Kenema Court, when he was accosted by 3 plain clothes officers, who told him that he was under arrest, in connection with a matter that he had reported to the very police and is currently being investigated by the CDIID in Freetown.

According to our information, the private lawyer and Newspaper Lawyer of the Publisher, Lawyers Abdulai Bewie and J.B Duada then intervened and accompanied their client to the police station. At the police station, Lawyer Bewie told the police that his client has no case no answer, as the said matter was reported by him and is currently a matter of investigation by the CDIID in Freetown. It was disclosed that the six officers then forcefully grabbed the publisher by the neck, and in the event of trying to put him behind bars, beat him and his 13 years old daughter, Rose Kamara, before locking him up for three hours.  Rose Kamara is said to have gone into coma during the beating. He was only released when the Minister of Internal Affairs was contacted, and the behavior of the police relayed to him. He had to order his release.

Upon his release, Publisher Nilmalty and daughter were only then given medical forms to go to the hospital, as both of them had sustained some injuries and were bleeding. It could be recalled that Nilmalty had dragged 3 police officers from Kenema to the CDIID headquarters in Freetown, on allegation of compromising a matter of thereat to his life and that of his family, by a notorious criminal in Kenema, over his action to expose the Cleric’s nefarious activities, a matter that he had reported to the police in Kenema CDIID.

According to our information, the said police officers who assaulted the publisher included one Mafinda, who the original officer alleged to have compromised the case of the publisher that was reported in Kenema and has been warned by the head of CDIID in Freetown to comport himself as an officer.

Speaking to this medium, the publisher explained his ordeal with the police on the 17th March,  disclosing that during the scuffle, his watch and several jewelries were taken form him and have not been returned, including two of his phones. He displayed the wounds on his forehead, arm, lips, as well as the medical forms given to him and his daughter to see a doctor for examination.

He stressed that he will not relent to see that justice is done to the poor victim of rape, even if it means losing his life, because as a father with daughters, this could happen to any of them, as well as any other Sierra Leonean. It is issues like these that prompted President Bio to declare war against sexual abuse of girls and the enactment of tougher laws to deal with perpetrators. He expressed surprise that a s whistle blower the police that should be protecting him, is siding with criminals against him.