allAfrica.com: Gambia: SOS Badjie, SOS Jatta, Army Chief Jatta And IGP Rex King Blamed For The APRIL 10TH Killings (Page 1 of 2)

Gambia: SOS Badjie, SOS Jatta, Army Chief Jatta And IGP Rex King Blamed For The APRIL 10TH Killings

Eight years after the gruesome murder of 14 unarmed Gambian students by the country's security forces, former student leaders have formally named Gambian officials responsible for the killings of their colleagues. Erstwhile Gambia Student Union leader Alhagie Nyabally and his outspoken Information Minister Ebrima Dibba are pointing accusing fingers at four former Government officials, as being responsible for the demise of their colleagues. Nyabally and Dibba both of whom are living in exile, in a joint statement issued today, accused Ousman Badjie, former Interior Minister, Baboucarr Jatta, former Army Commander, Rex King, former Inspector General of police and Ann Therese Ndong Jatta, former Education Minister. The former student leaders say the four named former officials misled both President Yahya Jammeh and VP Njie Saidy about the intentions of their colleagues on the day in question. Nyabally and Dibba said the following Gambian students were killed by the security forces, thanks to leadership blunder. The list of the murdered students reads as follow:

1. Baboucarr Badjie, Talinding Arabic school

2. Wuyai Foday Mansareh, Anglican Institute

3. Momodou Lamin Chune, Latrikunda Junior Secondary school

4. Momodou Lamin Njie GTTI

5. Claesco Pierra, New Jewswang Secondary school,

6. Karomo Barrow ICE High Baboucarr school

7. Regional Carrol

8. Lamin A Bojang, Nusrat Senior Secondary School

9. Ousman Sabally, Brikamaba

10. Sainey Nyabally, Brikamaba

11. Bamba Jobarteh, Armitage Senior Secondary School

12. Unidentified teenager killed

13. Abdoulie Sanyang

14. Omar Barrow, former journalist/Red Cross Volunteer was also shot dead.

The former student leaders used the occasion to pray for the eternal rest of their late gallant colleagues, whom they described as victims of state sponsored murder and brutality. Dibba and Nyabally who had a one hour interview with the Freedom Newspaper called on The Gambian Government to prosecute security officials responsible for the demise of their colleagues. They said such callous and barbaric act cannot go unpunished. Dibba and Nyabally deplored the irresponsible comments made by the Vice President Isatou Njie Saidy that the shooting started within the students. " This was the most irresponsible statement ever issued by the Vice President. I would call it the most stupidest statement ever issued by this shameless and immoral Vice President. She is a disgrace to Gambian women. She should withdraw her statement and apologize to the bereaved families. The security forces started the shooting and they also killed our colleagues. They are responsible for the killings." Ebrima Dibba tells the Freedom Newspaper.

Mr. Dibba accuses the Vice President of being a pathological liar. " I do not buy her basket of lies and deception at all. Because, thinking about students, who do not even have knives in their pockets, how can they have access to guns to a point that they were able to shoot their fellow students. Killing their fellow 14 students for what reason? This was one of the biggest blunder ever committed by the Vice President in her life time. She needs to apologize to Gambians." Dibba added.

For his part Alhagie Nybally widely known as Mandela, said he was equally shocked and dismayed by the Vice President's irresponsible statement. " The VP Isatou Njie Saidy said in National TV that the students shot themselves with guns. I personally watched the TV and I was really shocked. With all due respect to her.....if I talk now, people, I am sure those who have been following my story in the country, they would not say Nybally and Dibba are cowards. Because when we were there, we told the authorities that this has happened and this is our stance. And we mean this, and we mean this....We were totally blunt with it when we were there. We went to the state house, before the President, with due respect to him, we still maintained the same stance." Said Nybally.

Mr. Nybally speaking from an undisclosed location for security reasons said he was a living witness to the killing of the Gambian students, including journalist Omar Barrow. "The VP in her own conscience as a faithful Muslim, she knows definitely that the students never had guns, not even knives to stab or kill each other. We were students. Our only power is pen and paper. So if she says students shot themselves, when the President was away, may be perhaps was to console the heart of the President. As Dibba said somebody ordered for the killings of the students. Who ordered for the killings? When we were in The Gambia, we kept pressing, pressing, pressing and I finally said history will tell. God, we will forgive because we are tied to an inexcusable network, where we have been harassed, bullied, molested, tortured and here and there. Now we said our destiny is in the hands of God. Who ordered the killings was never said, was never known, but those who actually were engaged in the operations knows actually what happened. But whoever was responsible should apologize to Gambians." Said Nyabally.

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