Sierra Leone has ended its treason case against former president Ernest Bai Koroma, nearly three years after his arrest over an alleged coup attempt.
Information Minister Chernor Bah confirmed to the BBC that the charges were dropped on health grounds. Koroma, 72, has been living in exile in Nigeria since January 2024.
Koroma has consistently denied any role in the November 2023 attack, when armed men stormed a military armoury and several prisons in Freetown. Almost 2,000 inmates escaped in the incident that left about 20 people dead.
In a statement on Tuesday, Koroma said he remains committed to “peace, justice and reconciliation.” He also thanked President Julius Maada Bio, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, and Ecowas for their support.
After he was placed under house arrest, Ecowas negotiated an agreement allowing Koroma to leave for Nigeria for medical treatment. The attorney general later filed to discontinue the case.
“The former president is therefore free to return to Sierra Leone at a time of his choosing and to go about his normal business,” Bah said.
Koroma led the country for 11 years until 2018, when Bio won the presidency. The 2023 coup attempt happened five months after Bio was narrowly re-elected in a disputed vote. Koroma’s All People’s Congress rejected the results, and international observers also flagged transparency issues.
In 2024, 11 civilians and 24 soldiers were convicted and given long prison sentences for their involvement in the attempted coup.
