Ex-Sierra Leone president Ernest Bai Koroma has been summoned by the police for questioning over recent attacks that officials claim was a failed coup. Koroma, who led the West African nation for 11 years until 2018, has been asked to appear at the criminal investigations department in Freetown within 24 hours. The summons follows the earlier arrest of his former security aide. A brazen attack last month in Freetown resulted in the release of most of the over 2,000 inmates, with at least 18 members of the security forces killed and over 50 suspects arrested, including military officers. Koroma, who had worked as a security guard for Koroma until 2018, has been asked to honor the police summons and ask his supporters to be calm.
Koroma, who has officially retired from politics, remains an influential figure within his political party and often hosts prominent politicians in his hometown of Makeni. There have been political tensions in Sierra Leone since President Julius Maada Bio was re-elected for a second term in a disputed vote in June. Following his re-election, police arrested several individuals, including senior military officers, who were planning to use protests to undermine peace.
