At NIA I Was Kept at Bambadinka Cell - Alieu Jobe

Continuing his testimony before Justice Anin-Yeboah, Alieu Jobe, the 6th accused person in the 21st March 2006 abortive coup, on Thursday revealed that he was kept at the NIA for fives days in a cell which he later came to learn was the dreaded Bambadinka.

Jobe further stated that he was made to sleep on a bare floor reeking of urine without mosquito net, adding that he was given one meal consisting of half a loaf of bread a day in the course of the five days. He adduced that throughout the five days he was detained at the NIA, he did not make any statement.

According to Alieu Jobe, he was collected from his cell at NIA every night with his face blindfolded in a black plastic bag and taken behind a building where he would be subjected to severe beating, adding that this treatment continued to a point that his body ached all over. He stated that at the end of the five days he was taken back to Mile 2 from where he was again collected in the same manner on 14th April 2006, at around 10:00 pm. He said at the NIA he was taken by Musa Jammeh to the rear of a building at NIA and beaten again. He stated the beating lasted for sometime that time around before he was taken to Boto Keita to give his statement. “I was taken back behind the building where the beating continued,” he recounted. He said all the beatings he had been subjected to were uniform in their style as he was each time blindfolded with a plastic bag and asked to kneel down before sticks and pipes started to rain down on him, and Musa Jammeh was always the one conducting the beatings.

The 6th accused further stated that the statement he made on 14th April 2006 was against his will, adding that he had earlier on made statements on 3rd and 6th April 2006, adding that all the statements he made were made at night.

“I was taken to the panel room and to my surprise I saw a video camera with Lt. Gano sitting beside with the service chiefs, such as Harry Sambou, former NIA boss, Ousman Sonko, the then IGP, Brigadier-General CDS Lang Tamba and others,” Mr. Jobe revealed, stating that the video recording was done by Abdoulie Sowe. He added that the statement he made on video was as a result of compulsion by the service chiefs on the panel. He said he was threatened with serious torture if he refused to make statement on the video. He said his consent was not obtained prior to the recording of his statement, nor did he know the camera crew that did the recording, as the GRTS staff he knew were not present at the recording. He said he knew Modou Sanyang of GRTS but stated that he was not present during the recording. He said the T-shirt he wore had bloodstains as a result of the beating he had undergone in the hands of Musa Jammeh and his team.

He said he was detained at Mile 2 for almost 16 months, noting that during the period they were allowed to receive only non-food items from their family members.

Jobe concluded his testimony by saying that all the statements he made were against his will.

Hearing continues today, 16th July 2007.