By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Authorities in The Gambia on Tuesday charged two civilians and a police officer over alleged coup attempt and subsequently remanded suspects in custody at the Mile 2 Prison, government spokesperson said in a statement.
The suspects, civilians Mustapha Jabbi and Saikuba Jabbi and Sub-inspector Fakebba Jawara of The Gambia Police Force were arrested on Friday. They were charged with concealment of treason and conspiracy to commit a felony.
The government on December 21 said it had foiled a coup attempt the previous day, and detained some military personnel.
At least seven soldiers, including a captain and lieutenant had earlier been arrested, authorities announced.
Opposition politician Momodou Sabally, a former minister of presidential affairs under ex-leader Yahya Jammeh, was arrested and later released.
The nation last week set up an “investigative panel” to probe the alleged coup and was given 30 days to report.
On Thursday, in a first revelation of details of the coup bid, national security adviser Abubakarr Suleiman Jeng said the plotters aimed to “arrest cabinet ministers and senior government officials to use them as hostages to prevent any foreign intervention.
“They also had plans to retire all senior military officers from the rank of major and above and restructure (the army),” he told reporters in the capital, Banjul.
The Gambia is a fragile democracy, still scarred by a brutal 22-year dictatorship under Jammeh.
He was defeated in a presidential election in December 2016 by political newcomer Adama Barrow and fled to Equatorial Guinea but retains clout back home.
