Ex-President, 79 Suspects Detained Over Failed S’Leone Coup

A total of 80 suspects have been named following a failed attempted coup on November 26 in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, local police have said.

William Fayia Sellu, inspector general of the Sierra Leonean police, told a press conference Tuesday that the suspects include former President Ernest Bai Koroma, 50, currently serving military officers, and five dismissed military officers, among others.

Sellu said the former president had been granted bail with specific confinement at his residence in Freetown, while the remaining 79 suspects are in custody at the criminal investigations department.

A total of 80 suspects have been named following a failed attempted coup on November 26 in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, local police have said.

William Fayia Sellu, inspector general of the Sierra Leonean police, told a press conference Tuesday that the suspects include former President Ernest Bai Koroma, 50, currently serving military officers, and five dismissed military officers, among others.

Sellu said the former president had been granted bail with specific confinement at his residence in Freetown, while the remaining 79 suspects are in custody at the criminal investigations department.

The inspector general urged the public to provide useful information leading to the arrest of the remaining suspects still on the run.

On November 26, some armed individuals attacked a military barracks, a prison, and other locations in Freetown, leaving more than 20 people killed in what the government said later was a failed coup.