In a media interview, Sierra Leone’s First Lady, Fatima Jabbie-Bio has denied knowing drug lord, Jos Leijdekkers despite sitting close with him during a church service in Sierra Leone.
The exact location of the church where the First Lady interacted with the drug lord remains unknown, but unofficial sources pointed at a rural setting in Southern Sierra Leone.
Leijdekkers remains one of Europe’s most wanted drug traffickers after he was recently convicted of drug-trafficking offences facing a cumulative total of at least 45-year jail term which has been slammed on him in absentia.
Foreign reports also state that Beljian prosecutors are also seeking an additional 15-year sentence, in an ongoing trial, which, if approved by the courts, could raise Leijdekkers prison term to 60.
As it stands, international media reports have always indicated that the wanted drug lord is being sheltered in Sierra Leone with accusing fingers pointed at the first family particularly at the First Lady.
While explaining to the media, the First Lady said “I don’t know Jos Leijdekkers; I am a muslim, but I was invited to the church.”
In spite of the First Lady’s denial of knowledge about the drug baron, a video which she allegedly posted on social media shows Leijdekkers sitting two rows behind the First Lady during a church service in Sierra Leone.
Documents also seen by this press have confirmed that Leijdekkers has been, for years, on Europe’s watchlist for arrest, trial and conviction.
The courts and Interpol have been tracing allegations about his whereabouts.
The alleged recent posting of a video by the First Lady lent credence to allegations made by Europe and the United States that Leijdekkers is here in Sierra Leone.
Credible sources say the video reportedly brought about a rift at State Lodge owing to the embarrassment made to bear on the government and the state of Sierra Leone.
The video led to several countries particularly the United States raising eyebrows on Sierra Leone tagging it as a landing place and a springboard for drug traffickers.
European countries also have been closely monitoring Sierra Leone for incidents of drug trafficking. The drug issue no longer became a secret following the arrest of a shipload of cocaine by Spanish police officers.
A recent forensic analysis done by US investigators on the seized cocaine reportedly traced the drug’s origin to Sierra Leone.
The arrest of Sierra Leone’s Ambassador to Guinea for unlawful possession of cocaine also added strength to the allegations that Sierra Leone grows cocaine and also a drug hub harbouring a drug lord. Two notorious drug traffickers trapped in Qatar showed links to Sierra Leone as the country’s diplomatic passport were discovered in their possession.
Since these allegations came to the limelight, pressure started was mounting on Sierra Leone government to extradite the convicted drug Lord, Leijdekkers or share his fate.
Quite recently, a Dutch journalist was here in Sierra Leone on an investigative mission to locate Leijdekkers when she was arrested by the Sierra Leone Police at a time the journalist to the hideout.
The Dutch journalist was however sent back to Holland after a brief detention by the Sierra Leone Police.
A local media practitioner and fixer, for the Dutch journalist Joseph Kamara is currently on the run since he is declared wanted by the police.
However, pressure still continues to bear on the Sierra Leone government as the United States and other European countries believe that Leijdekkers is comfortably staying in the country.
Recent media reports show that Holland is preparing special forces to embark on an operation to arrest Leijdekkers to make him face the music in Europe where the crimes have been committed.
Despite pressure by the United States and European countries on Sierra Leone, government officials have always argued that Leijdekkers is not in not here, a fact the international community has always seen as a cock and bull story.
However, official argument has always proved contradictory and inconsistent: at one point, government argues that Sierra Leone is a sovereign state regardless of its size and number of people living it and that another country cannot impose their will on a sovereign state.
This means that Holland cannot compel Sierra Leone to extradite Leijdekkers to face punishment for his drug trade, an argument that has gained popularity even among the masses here.
In an online media interview, presidential spokesman Alpha Khan is on record to have amplified the sovereign status of Sierra Leone in relation to the extradition of Leijdekkers, and that that Europe and America only wanted to get at loggerheads with Sierra Leone.
The spokesman went on to state that should there be any invasion by the US and European forces to track down Leijdekkers, Sierra Leone will defend itself.
Outside official circles, it is argued that the Dutch government must extradite the social media ventriloquist, Abdul Will Kamara aka Adebayor who should face charges of incitement against the government of Sierra Leone and repeated public insults against the president, Julius Maada Bio.
Adebayor who is linked to the main opposition, All People’s Congress (APC), has allegedly incited bloody protest and riots particularly, the August 10, 2022 protest which nearly brought the Bio regime to an end.
In this situation, the argument goes on, Sierra Leone government will extradite leijdekkers only if Adebayor is similarly sent home, a situation that will result into a swap of fugitive criminals.
But, arguments contrary to the prisoner swap abound, pointing out differences to the two situations.
The crime of insulting conduct, legal experts say, carries no punishment in Holland and little is known about whether Adebayor is really liable for the crime of incitement against the Sierra Leone government.
At the moment, Leijdekkers is still at large although he still remains a drug convict and West Africa has been on the receiving end of the effects of his drug trade.
Although no official figures are available now, thousands of West African youth have succumbed to drug-related deaths with Sierra Leone taking a fair share of the death toll.
Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown alone accounted for over 198 drug-related deaths, and Freetown City Council was recently overwhelmed with destitute corpses left on the street for burials.
Recently, Mayor of Freetown City Council, Yvonne Aki Sawyer was on air informing Sierra Leonean public that FCC’s resources are overstretched in respect of drug-related burials.
The sharing of such alarming information by the city mayor was a move which the government is not pleased with.
The high rate of drug-related deaths recently sparked national concerns and threats of protest for government to remove Leijdekkers from Sierra Leone became wild and widespread like a bush fire in the harmattan.
The threats of protest however made no difference to the drug situation in Sierra Leone as the youth still continue to perish on the streets, and a blind eye turned by the government.
In spite of the dangers caused by the drugs, the Situation of Leijekkers still continue to pose more questions than answers with the First Lady under the spotlight.