Ibrahim Conteh declared wanted

Ibrahim Conteh, a native of Kasseh, Port Loko District, Northern Sierra Leone is looking for a haven as he continues to be in hiding whilst being surveillance by the Sierra Leone Police and the Poro Secret Society.
The life of the young man has been hell ever since he became a fugitive while looking for a haven.
Times SL Northern Correspondent from Port Loko reported that Ibrahim Conteh is currently a wanted man by the Poro Secret Society on allegations of arson and is also being investigated by the Sierra Leone Police on allegations of riotous conduct, unlawful demonstration, and conspiracy to cause unrest.
Reports are that the young man was alleged to have set ablaze the Society Bush of the most feared Poro Secret Society in his hometown following an unfortunate incident that led to the death of his elder brother. Times SL Newspaper gathered that Ibrahim’s elder brother was taken to the society bush to be initiated into Poro Society but unfortunately, he could not come back.

News of the untimely death of the young man became topical and this infuriated into serious skirmishes within the chiefdom that led to the destruction of properties. Taking the law into his own hands, Ibrahim decided to rejuvenate his brother’s death by allegedly setting ablaze the Society Bush which led to serious confrontation. Some of the Society Men told Times SL Newspaper that after the incident, he (Ibrahim) openly bragged that he was going to revenge his brother’s death. The Leader of the Poro Secret Society told this medium that ” it is not our fault. Ibrahim Conteh’s brother died as a result of a historic illness. We learned that he was having complicated health problems and when we took him to the Bush for initiation, he couldn’t survive because of his complicated health problems. We have initiated over two hundred young men recently and all those initiations were successful. We tried to let the family understand that the death of their son was a result of other health complications which we couldn’t be blamed for ” Society Leader Pa Lamin Foday Koroma narrated. He added for Ibrahim to set their Society Bush on Fire is a challenge against the gods and for that, he must suffer heavy punishment. The punishment for such action as per customs and tradition is death.

Poro Society is a highly respected traditional society in Sierra Leone and quite a good number of successful people from the provinces are members. There are top politicians, civil servants, and administrators who are also members. They cherish that society to the extent they even worship the gods and will stand in unison against anyone they believe is against them. In essence, even the Police are afraid of prosecuting them.
Ibrahim Conteh’s house was also set ablaze when over four hundred gallant young men stormed the township looking for him. They were singing in their local Temne dialect that they were ready to devour Ibrahim because he had thrown a challenge to them and the gods of their land. Ibrahim’s family house was burnt down but before the society men could approach the area Ibrahim was reported to have fled the area. His photos were posted in every nook and cranny.

Then few weeks later, the Sierra Leone Police in Freetown declared him wanted on allegations of incitement and unlawful demonstration.
When Times SL contacted the Sierra Leone Police in Freetown, Brima Kamara, Police Spokesman said, Ibrahim Conteh’s name is among those declared wanted of riotous conduct and unrest against the state. He is known to be a staunch supporter of the main Opposition All People’s Congress and was among those who planned a series of unrest to disturb the peace of the people. We are going to prosecute all those whose names are part of our investigation ” Kamara said.

However, there are concerns that those allegations put out by the police are just cover-ups on behalf of the Poro Secret Society because the head of the Sierra Leone Police is also a member of the society. Therefore, others believe those allegations are being used to punish Ibrahim because of his alleged involvement in burning the society bush.
Sierra Leone has become hell for members of the opposition ever since President Julius Maada Bio was elected in April 2018. Political bullying and intimidation have become the order of the day under the leadership of President Julius Maada Bio. There are reported cases of death threats against members of the opposition within Freetown and also in the stronghold of the opposition. Ibrahim’s case is similar to many others who have been crying for justice in silence. There are reports of over four hundred people in custody languishing in detention centers across the country on either political intimidation or concocted cases of treason. In the case of Ibrahim, the police have put out a ransom of ten million leones for his arrest.
Meanwhile, efforts made to contact Ibrahim and members of his family proved futile. Recent developments are that Ibrahim’s wife and children have been wiped out as there are no traces of them in and out of Sierra Leonel to be able to get the
We are investigating and we will continue to bring out the true story…