The government of Sierra Leone has dropped all charges, including treason, against former President Ernest Bai Koroma, who was arrested in connection with an attempted coup nearly three years ago. Information Minister Chernor Bah confirmed the development to the BBC, stating the charges were dropped on health grounds.

The 72-year-old former president has consistently denied involvement in the November 2023 coup attempt, during which gunmen broke into a military armoury and several prisons, freeing almost 2,000 inmates. Koroma had been under house arrest before being allowed to go into exile in Nigeria in January 2024.

In response to the charges being dropped, Koroma expressed his "enduring conviction that peace, justice and reconciliation must always triumph over adversity." He also thanked Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, and the West African regional bloc ECOWAS for their support.

ECOWAS brokered a deal that allowed Koroma to travel to Nigeria for medical treatment. The attorney general subsequently filed to discontinue the case. Bah added that the former president is now free to return to Sierra Leone at any time and resume his normal activities.

Koroma led Sierra Leone for 11 years until 2018, when current President Bio was elected. In 2024, 11 civilians and 24 soldiers were found guilty of involvement in the coup attempt and received long prison sentences. The attempted coup occurred five months after a disputed election that saw Bio narrowly re-elected, with results rejected by Koroma's All People's Congress party and criticized by international observers for lack of transparency.

Source: www.bbc.co.uk