IGP Badjie Wants The Daily News To Censure “Sensitive” Environmental Stories

“ We Are All Brothers And Sisters—And Should Look Out For Each Other,” Said Police Chief

Badjie Accused Of Endangering The Lives Of His Workers

By Staff Reporter Modou Gibba, Banjul

Gambia’s police chief Essa Badjie Tuesday made a passionate plea with the Daily News reporters—to avoid publishing stories that might put the image of his battered force into disrepute. The IGP was concerned about the implications of  losing his job, thanks to the exposure of the deplorable environmental situation at the Banjul new police lines by the Daily news. Mr. Badjie told the reporters that they should have refrained from publishing the story, but both Ceesay and Njie argued strongly that the piece in question was reported in good faith, and in the best interest of the country.

In what was supposed to be a police interrogation, later turned out to be a talk show. The IGP unwittingly tried to entice the young reporters to help him cover up the bad sanitation at the police lines in Banjul, but the journalists insisted that they were morally and ethically obliged to inform, educate and entertain their target audience through the form of mass dissemination of factual information.

IGP Badjie never disputed the veracity of the Daily news story. His primary concern was the implications of exposing the piece in the public domain—given the fact that the President Yahya Jammeh has been frowning against security chiefs, who have been found to be wanting in their duties.

Meeting the needs and aspirations of servicemen is high on the President’s agenda. Mr. Jammeh has made it categorically clear that any service chief who is insensitive to the plight of his men, must consider resigning as he would not only fire such officers, but  he would ensure that they are thrown in jail.

While addressing the reporters in the presence of their employer Madi Ceesay, the IGP reminded the journalists that “ we are brothers and sisters and should be mindful about what you report.” Badjie doesn’t  see the relevance of such a story. He thinks the Daily news reporters stepped their bounds by invading the police barracks—without official clearance.

He prevailed on the reporters to exercise some degree of caution by allowing the police to fix the sanitary problem. He said that efforts were being made to dispatch the police maintenance team to renovate the place, but workers were not on site as yet.

IGP Badjie then mentioned that the police had other priority maintenance work to execute elsewhere across the country, besides the Banjul police lines. He cites Sibanorr and Sifoe, where renovation work he said is currently underway. He insists that the Daily news reporters should not have carried the story under any given circumstances—in view of the facts adduced above.

Police sources reaching the Freedom Newspaper said the IGP upon reading the Daily news story, he reprimanded PRO Secka for having divulged such “sensitive” information to the press. It has been gathered that he exchanged arguments with Secka , who was threatened with possible sacking or redeployment.

The President Yahya Jammeh sometime in November of last year made a surprising visit to the Yundum Army barracks, where he  was shocked by the conditions of the soldiers there—which led to the arrest and sacking of the former army chief General Lang Tombong Tamba.

The Banjul police lines was on the president’s radar at the time, but for some unexplained reasons, Mr. Badjie’s Deputy Momodou Gaye was used as a scapegoat—which led to his sacking and subsequent arrest by the state.

It would be recalled that Mr. Gaye’s wife led a group of servicemen’s  wives, in which  they toured the Banjul police lines. The said meeting was televised by the GRTS. Badjie was unhappy with Gaye’s failure to restrain his wife from exposing the deplorable environmental situation at the police lines.

The Daily news reporters were released unconditionally. The IGP wants the reporters to refrain from educating people in that neighborhood about the implications of bad sanitation. He only cares for his job, and not the health of his staff.

The invitation of these reporters to the police head quarters have been reported by the Freedom Newspaper. We hope the President will take the right steps to fire IGP Badjie because his actions tantamount to withholding vital sanitary information to the public. We cannot afford to have an IGP who is unconcerned about the health of his workers. Badjie stands to be accused of endangering the lives of his colleagues by trying to conceal such an important story.