Former Sierra Leone President Koroma escapes to Nigeria for asylum today instead of facing treason charges in his country.
Controversy trailed the decision of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the president of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), to relocate former Sierra Leonean President Ernest Bai Koroma to Nigeria today.
Touray added that the former President has accepted the offer to be hosted in Nigeria, and arrangements will be made to fly him out of Freetown today, subject to approval. The former Sierra Leonean President was charged with four counts of treason on Tuesday in connection to an attempted coup and other crimes.
However, Sierra Leone Foreign Minister Timothy Kabba told the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) that the government did not support the proposal to relocate Koroma, which he described as a proposition by the ECOWAS Commission President. But Touray's statement on Koroma's relocation to Nigeria, titled "Temporary relocation of former President to Abuja," reads: "I am pleased to inform Your Excellency that the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has offered to host His Excellency Ernest Bai Koroma, former President of Sierra Leone, in Abuja. The former President has accepted the offer to be hosted in Nigeria. Subject to your approval, arrangements will be made to fly former President Koroma out of Freetown on Thursday, 4th January."
Koroma was President for 11 years until 2018 when incumbent President Julius Maada Bio was elected. The former president's daughter, Dankay Koroma, has previously been named on a list of wanted suspects by the police but has not commented.