The Secretary General of the All People’s Congress (APC), Mr. Lansana Dumbuya, during an interview, shared his position on the government’s efforts in addressing the drug saga related to the former Sierra Leone Ambassador to Guinea, and the allegation about a Dutch Fugitive, Jos Leijdekkers spotted in Sierra Leone.

He started by advising that it is important to start treating some certain things in the country responsibly. He said, when it comes to matters related to drugs, they know how it has damaged both the young and the old people, and even the society as a whole.

Immediately after the disclosure of the alleged fugitive, and when they heard about the Sierra Leone Ambassador to Guinea involvement in drug related crime, he said they issued out a press statement.

In the statement, he said they condemned the government’s inactive attitude towards the saga relating to a certain high profile of government personality involved in drug issue, which he said damaged the image of the country.

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Mr. Dumbuya continued that it does not require one to be politically affiliated before speaking against the issue because it is bad for the country, whereby investors would loose interest in investing in the country, which he said would project the country in a bad image to the international community.

He asserted that the government is not helping the situation and that he is not even serious about it. “I don’t know why you’re not repeatedly admitting that the government is not serious,” he stated.

The Secretary stated that in their press statement, they clearly stated that for the country to be seen as a serious country, they must institute an investigation panel involving people who are not politically connected, like civil societies, religious people, and also experts from the institution that is responsible for investigating drug related issues in the United Kingdom.

He stressed that an investigative panel should be instituted with such people to investigate the issues. He vehemently posed that it seems like “the government is not serious” about the issue, and that it seems like they are happy about what is happening.

Also, he continued that if a fugitive is in the country, and the Netherlands government has clearly confirmed that the alleged fugitive is their citizen, he said he ponder why the alleged fugitive is still in the country.

In response to a report which stated that, according to the Attorney General, Alpha Sesay, the process of deciding on whether to handover the alleged fugitive or not would take a long process, the Secretary commented by describing the process as an extradition process, arguing that it is a short process.

He Maintained that if the government is serious about the matter, it would be dealt with quickly, claiming that all they needed to do is to present all the documents relating to the issue to a judge, saying it is a very simple process.

The Netherlands Government, he said is not just some kind of country who would make any form of allegation with solid bases, so he urged that the people should not treat the matter lightly.

If the Minister of Information and Civic Education, Chernor Bah was very serious about his proposition, he said, the Minister should have said that they would be ready to handover the alleged fugitive to the Dutch government if enough evidences are submitted to them. He compelled the government to make that statement of readiness in handing-over the fugitive.

“Drug related crimes are serious concerns in Sierra Leone. For the government to prove to the people of this country that they are serious about the issue, they should have instituted an investigation panel,” he prompted the government.

In response to a statement which alleged that as of lastest yesterday, 3rd Monday, 2025, the government had not been able to give account of whether the alleged fugitive is in Sierra Leone or not, the Secretary General responded that it is sad for the government to be placed in a position of lamenting on the whereabouts of the alleged Dutch fugitive when evidences have clearly established that he was with the first family of the president in an enclosed place, and that he was an associate of the first family.

To say the police is investigating the matter, he said it was a mere way of appeasing the public in a misleading manner. Demanding that the investigation should be vividly seen by the public whereby the accused should be invited by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

He concluded by saying that they were surprised that the government has not taken any action against some certain close associates of the alleged Dutch fugitive. He said, “due to the close interactions of some people with the accused person, the associates should be suspended as a form of pending investigation.”