Indicted Ex-sierra Leone President Arrives In Nigeria For Medical Care

Former president of Sierra Leone, Ernest Bai Koroma

Former president of Sierra Leone, who is indicted, travels to Nigeria for medical care

Ernest Bai Koroma, the former president of Sierra Leone, fled the nation and landed in Nigeria on Friday, January 19, 2024. He is accused of being involved in what the authorities describe as a coup attempt.

On Friday afternoon, Koroma arrived in Abuja and was greeted by Omar Alieu Touray, the president of the ECOWAS Commission, and Nuhu Ribadu, the national security adviser.

The former president had previously accepted Nigeria's offer to enter temporarily.

The 70-year-old, who served as the country's leader from 2007 to 2018, was granted permission by the judiciary on Wednesday to travel to Nigeria for medical treatment for a maximum of three months.

In an address to the country on Thursday night, current president Julius Maada Bio referred to the court's ruling as a “humanitarian gesture.”

Sheriff Mahmud Ismail, Koroma's advisor, had previously reported that the former head of state boarded a Nigerian Air Force aircraft, though he did not say where the flight was going.

Earlier this week, the High Court of Sierra Leone granted permission for the former president to receive medical care in Nigeria, “for the most three months from the date of this order and (on condition) that his sureties should provide regular medical updates, signed and duly authorised.”