Following the recent declaration by the Head of the Sierra Leone Police, William Fayia Sellu that seems to suggest that the Jos Leijdekkers, who is claimed to be a Dutch fugitive and whose photos and videos are being published and watch the world over, is not in Sierra Leone and the man in those photos and videos is known as Umar Sheriff, the public is now demanding that he produces the known Umar Sheriff for everyone to see.
Dutch authorities are insisting that the man whose photograph who shot at President Julius Maada Bio’s family Church service in his Tihun village, is Jos Leijdekkers and have therefore issued an extradition order to the Sierra Leone authorities for Leijdekkers return to The Netherlands where he has been convicted for drug smuggling crimes.
Sierra Leoneans are concerned now that in order to calm down what has become an international embarrassment to every citizen, the Inspector-General should now present the man they believe is Umar Sheriff and not Jos Leijdekkers for the world to determine who is who of the two controversial names. This move will also help to avoid the incidence of a mistaken identity.
Jos Leijdekkers being in the country and the exposure of the photo that has caused local and international uproar around him, is a distasteful development in the country’s seven years of image rebranding especially championed by no less a person than, the President, who unfortunately, is also being associated with this Dutch drug kingpin by his marriage relationship with his daughter, Agnes Bio.
Inasmuch as the police is denying knowledge of the existence of Leijdekkers in Sierra Leone and are now publicly stating that the person to whom fingers are being pointed at is Umar Sheriff would to a considerable extent solidify the probability assumption that the said Jos Leijdekkers is still enjoying the shepherd-ship and protection of the Sierra Leone Police who, it is widely alleged, has been providing close-body protection for Leijdekkers with Operational Support Division (OSD) personnel. If the Dutch fugitive is enjoying this top-notch security detail around him, it could not have been done ordinarily without the acquiescence of the Head of the very OSD Paramilitary Division and indeed the Inspector-General.
To in a way loosen this riddles, the Inspector-General must come out clean, on behalf of the Government of Sierra Leone, and present Umar Sheriff to the public.
Citizens believe that this action will even give the acclaimed Umar Sheriff respite from his hide and seek melodrama he is now finding himself, all in the name of evading justice.
Citizens are baffled by the Inspector-General disclosures that one; they do not know how Umar Sheriff entered the country since they could not trace any records of his entry into the country either from the airport, the seaport or our other known official entry points. What is however certain is that, Umar Sheriff could not have entered Sierra Leone as a spirit and then be seen as a physical human being that is now being protected by the police.
Jos Leijdekkers is known to have several identities including a Dutch, Turkish and probably, Sierra Leonean. He was last known to be operating from Turkey up to 2022, when he reportedly disappeared only to surface in Sierra Leone as exposed by the video of the melee at the Scarlet Club at Lagoonda during which he reportedly shot one Hussein Fawaz.
Up to when the time the January 2025 video that removed the lid over Leijdekkers, he was mostly reportedly seen with Sierra Leone’s Chief Immigration Officer, Alusine Kanneh who, suggestions are rife, could have covertly prepared a Sierra Leonean name identity for Jos Leijdekkers, parading the country as an investor.
A Africa Confidential report on the Jos Leijdekkers controversy titled: “President Bio keeps cocaine lord in the family” suggests that Africa Confidential’s discovery from public records show that Hon. Alusine Kanneh has bought three properties in Delaware and Pennsylvania in the United States for the USD 1.9 million between 2022 and July 2024.
Nightwatch did send an excerpt of the Africa Confidential report to the Chief Immigration Officer, Alusine Kanneh for comments and to explain how he could have afforded such huge amount of money as a civil servant. He didn’t respond and he did call back up to the time of going to press.
Alleged acquisition of such huge amounts of money by Sierra Leone’s civil servants is a matter of concern considering the paltry salary rate in the country.
Jos Leijdekkers is reported to be playing with huge sums of money allegedly lodged in various banks in the country, and according to Africa Confidential, the Dutch authorities guessed that Leijdekkers could be making between Euro 840 million and Euro 2 billion in profit a year, from cocaine smuggling. In Sierra Leone, he is alleged to have invested in a number of businesses and he is guessed to own a substantial share in one of the country’s major mining companies.
Whether it is his identity that is now being protected or it is his investments that are being protected, is not clear. What is of concern to most citizens is, his identity. The Inspector-General must therefore present this Umar Sheriff so the public and the Dutch authorities concerned can make the final judgment. Other than that, the country’s image as a “cocaine entrepot” according to Africa Confidential will continue haunting us as a nation.