The Leader of the main opposition, All People’s Congress (APC) in Parliament, Hon. Chernor Ramadan Maju Bah aka Chericoco has in the Well of Parliament alleged that the Sierra Leone Police (SLP) have on numerous occasions targeted him and, according to him, they want him dead.

The Exclusive Newspaper reported that, Chericoco told colleague parliamentarians that the last time the police deliberately targeted him was on the 4th November 2021 when Dr. Samura Kamara honoured ACC’s invitation at its headquarters on Gloucester Street. Hon. Bah narrated that he was at the scene as an APC leader to help calm down the crowd of APC members and supporters that were within the precinct of the ACC building in solidarity with Dr. Samura Kamara.

He furthered that he was in the company with the opposition whip in parliament, Hon. Hassan Sesay and other APC MPs and that just when they were leaving the scene with their backs turned, one SOD personnel fired a teargas canister directly at his vehicle, damaging the front widescreen.

Another time, he said, he was targeted, was when the APC MPs were forcefully removed from the Well of Parliament by the Police. He said they were walking peacefully to the party headquarters at Brookfields on Old Railway Line when one police personnel fired a rubber bullet in his feet. Luckily for him, he said, the pant he had on was thick and therefore reduced the impact of the bullet.

Concerned about not only his personal safety but also that of all Sierra Leoneans, Hon. Chericoco called on the Speaker to invite the Inspector General of police to the House.

Responding, the Chairman of the Oversight Committee on Internal Affairs agreed that they needed to have a word with the people because what happened to Hon. Chericoco could happen to any of them. He recalled during the days of Hon. S.B.B. Dumbuya as Speaker when the police, similarly disgraced an MP. The same thing, he said is continuing and therefore supported the call for the IGP to be invited.