By Ibrahim Karim Bangura (Tanko)

On Wednesday May 22nd 2024, the Sierra Leone Police, told journalists at their headquarters at George Street in Freetown that huge number of Economic Community of West Africa States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) forces will soon deploy in Sierra Leone to beef up the democratic policies and peace building process in the country.

Brima Kamara, Assistant Commissioner of Sierra Leone Police, said that few ECOMOG facilitators are currently in the country.

And that, he added, the SLP is fully in control of the situation and are committed to fighting Kush and illegal drugs intake away in the country.

On the ECOMOG story, Nigeria and other ECOWAS members agreed to a Protocol on Mutual Defence Assistance, in Freetown, Sierra Leone, on 29 May 1981.

Among other organs such as a Defence Committee and Council, they provided for the establishment of an Allied Armed Force of the Community (AAFC) as needed.

Anglophone ECOWAS members established ECOMOG in 1990 to intervene in the civil war in Liberia (1989–97). Nigerian scholar Adekeye Adebajo wrote in 2002 in a piece that “there was merit…in the argument that the establishment of ECOMOG did not conform to the constitutional legal requirements of ECOWAS.”

The Standing Mediation Committee, the body that established ECOMOG at its meeting in Banjul, Gambia on 6-7 August 1990, was ‘on shaky legal foundations,’ Adebajo concludes and that the arguments used to establish ECOMOG had more solid grounds in politics than in law. The Defence Protocol’s guidelines were not followed, and ECOMOG was justified largely on humanitarian grounds.

Meanwhile, in another development, ACP Esther Mary Dukuray, Director of Training, Sierra Leone Police said, 34 police officers had been granted the opportunity to secure professional courses in Europe.

“We are proud to update the media on the recent development of SLP training in diverse fields i.e. on peace support operations, security expert, management leadership etc.,  national training for officers which is also ongoing at the Police Training School (PTS).”

She admitted the several challenges are faced with but assured the public that they would be overcome as soon as possible.”

ACP Dukuray confirmed to this medium that the selection of officers for international trainings over the years was based on qualification and hard work, and she talked of her role and responsibility which is to select the best personnel as selected officers are representing the image of the country not themselves.

Regional Commander, Freetown-East, Assistance Commissioner of Sierra Leone Police, Francess Mendy said the Freetown-East is relatively calm but only one suspected inmate  was under investigation for murder at the Kissy Police station but later  killed himself in the police lockup.

She stressed on the positive role and effort being played by police wives in the fight against Kush in the country.