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The Executive Director of the Native Consortium and Research Centre has hit back at the government after officials declared his organization is operating illegally.
Edmond Abu responded on Facebook hours after Eric Massally, the government’s NGO director, said the consortium failed to renew its registration in 2022 and is not paying taxes.
Massally told reporters in Freetown that his office will order the group to stop operations immediately.
But Abu rejected the accusations, saying the government is trying to distract him.
“For an institution like our stature and gravitas to have won 20 cases in court in the last 20 years… means you have mental health issues,” Abu wrote.
He accused the government of targeting him unfairly. Abu claimed that police beat him and other NGO workers during a meeting in 2023, injuring his colleague Kemoh Sallia’s spine. He said he reported the incident to Vice President Juldeh Jalloh but got no response.
Abu also pointed out that his organization has kept two major mobile companies, Orange and Africell, in court for seven years over consumer issues.
He said he has the money to renew his registration but refuses to do so until government officials apologize for what he called human rights violations against NGOs.
“Until SLANGO and MOPED tender public apology… the Native Consortium will never renew,” Abu said, referring to two government bodies that oversee NGOs.
He advised other local groups not to worry about renewal if they are already registered with city councils or the Corporate Affairs Commission, saying only groups seeking tax breaks or international funding need to renew.
Abu also claimed that some officials have been telling donors for eight years that his group supports the opposition APC party, which he said has cost him funding and staff.
The government has not yet responded to Abu’s allegations.
