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Sierra Leone’s government has dropped its charges, including treason, against ex-President Ernest Bai Koroma, who was arrested in connection with an attempted coup nearly three years ago.<\/b><\/p>\n
The charges had been dropped on health grounds, Information Minister Chernor Bah told the BBC.<\/p>\n
The 72-year-old former president has always denied involvement in the November 2023 attempted coup when gunmen broke into a military armoury and several prisons, freeing almost 2,000 inmates.<\/p>\n
Responding to his case being dropped, Koroma noted his “enduring conviction that peace, justice and reconciliation must always triumph over adversity”. <\/p>\n
In his statement on Tuesday, Koroma also expressed gratitude towards Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu and the West African regional bloc Ecowas for their support.<\/p>\n
After Koroma was charged and placed under house arrest, Ecowas brokered a deal with the government of Sierra Leone, allowing the former president to go into exile in Nigeria and seek medical attention there.<\/p>\n
The attorney general had then filed to discontinue the case against Koroma and drop the charges, Bah said.<\/p>\n
“The former president is therefore free to return to Sierra Leone at a time of his choosing and to go about his normal business,” he added.<\/p>\n
Koroma led Sierra Leone for 11 years until 2018, when current President Bio was elected.<\/p>\n
Eleven civilians and 24 soldiers were found guilty of involvement in the coup attempt and received long prison terms in 2024.<\/p>\n