Drug Squad Boss Appears In Public Armed With A Loaded Pistol!!!

Minister Of Interior, IGP, NIA, Others Asked To Intervene

Bun Sanneh Has No Permit To Carry Guns In Public—Says Police Insiders

By Staff Reporter Bakary Gibba, Banjul

The Executive Director of  Gambia's National Drug Enforcement Agency(NDEA), is coming under strong criticism for carrying arms in public—without legal permit, the Freedom Newspaper can reveal. News reaching this paper revealed that the NDEA Boss Mr. Ebrima Bun Sanneh is in the habit of displaying his shorthand pistol in public gatherings, which according to legal pundits is contrary to the country’s laws.

“He needs an unconcealed arm permit in order to display his gun publicly. He does not have one anyway. He is just using his position to possess gun illegally. There are dangers associated with allowing security officials to carry such guns without concealed permit. One, they can commit a capital offence unnoticed— because there is no formal effective gun control accountability mechanism put in place in this country. The police are expected to have an inventory of small arms in the country, but there are a lot of arms in the streets unregistered.  Here, we need the intervention of the NIA to bring Bun Sanneh to book. This report needs to be investigated,” said  a highly placed source familiar with Mr. Sanneh’s illegal gun possession.

 According to sources, each time the NDEA Chief navigates around town, he is always armed with a pistol loaded,  as if he is mandated by the law to do so. Witnesses said they have seen  Bun Sanneh on numerous occasions carrying pistol, which seemingly intimidated them because they do not see rationale behind the Drug Squad boss possessing such a deadly pistol in public.  

"We are really not happy with his actions, because other security chiefs in the country are not acting in such a way and as a matter of the fact, he should also emulate his colleagues." Laments our sources.

The  unanswered question lingering in the minds of Gambians is: who mandated Bun Sanneh to be armed in public gatherings? Sanneh’s conduct,  according to the concerned security officers is not in line with the ethics of the profession as well as the country's laws. The officers said possessing arms in public without permit could get one arrested, and possibly facing jail term for illegal arm possession. 

The officers wondered how Bun Sanneh is being treated with an exception—arguing that no one is above the law. They called on the relevant authorities to take the necessary steps to redress the situation—warning that the circulations of small arms posed a major  threat to the country’s fragile peace, and security. They said Bun Sanneh should be brought  to account to explain who authorized him to carry arms in public.

 The concerned security officers said they expect senior security chiefs such as Bun Sanneh to abide by the laws of the country, and not to be seen as violators. They appealed to the Minister of the interior and the Inspector General of police to educate Bun about the dangers of carrying pistol without the necessary training and certification. They said Bun is exposing the public in great danger— in view of his lack of formal security training to handle small arms.

A Senior Police Officer, who  confirmed the story to the Freedom Newspaper said Bun has been appearing in public with a  loaded pistol. The officer said only few officers in the force are allowed to be armed in public due to the nature of their work. He said Bun Sanneh does not fall under such category.

Mr. Bun Sanneh could not be reached for immediate comments at press time. He was indisposed for comments.