When truce dealing wins

On Monday, 7th September, Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio hosted his predecessor, Ernest Bai Koroma, on a reconciliation visit to the State House in Freetown. That was barely 24 hours after Koroma returned to the country from some two and half years of exile in Nigeria. “I am back home. And home will always be home. There will never be any substitute for home,” he said upon his return on Sunday, 6th September, capturing the personal meaning of a homecoming that carried wider political significance for his country.

Koroma, who was president from 2007 to 2018, had been living in Nigeria since January 2024 following diplomatic engagements led by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to save him from possible jail time over his alleged complicity in a November 2023 armed assault aimed at destabilising the Maada Bio administration. Koroma denied involvement. 

Freetown had convulsed with violence on 26th November, 2023, when armed insurrectionists stormed a military armoury, two barracks, two prisons and two police stations in the capital city, clashing with security forces. No fewer than 21 persons got killed and many hundreds of prisoners broken out of jail before the government was able to regain control against what it branded an attempted coup by renegade soldiers. The armoury attack was suspected to be a bid to seize weapons with which to unseat the incumbent administration, and most of persons arrested for the insurrection were military personnel. The coup bid came in the wake of disputed re-election of President Bio in June 2023. Investigators fingered Koroma’s former bodyguard as the mastermind and also  alleged that the plotters had links with the ex-president himself, following which Koroma was placed under house arrest from 9th December, 2023. Two dozen soldiers and Koroma’s former bodyguard were later sentenced to prison terms ranging from 50 to 100 years by a military court.

Before the coup bid, the political climate in Sierra Leone had been tense since June 2023 when Bio of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) was re-elected, narrowly avoiding a run-off with the candidate of main opposition All People’s Congress (APC). The poll was the fifth since the end of Sierra Leone’s brutal 11-year civil war more than two decades earlier that left over 50,000 people dead, several hundred maimed and the country’s economy destroyed. The result of the election was rejected by the opposition, which boycotted the government until October 2023 when a peace deal with the Bio administration was mediated by the Commonwealth, the African Union (AU) and ECOWAS.

Following the coup bid, the Maada Bio government said it investigated Koroma for his role and found him complicit. Early in January 2024, the ex-president was arraigned before a court and charged with “four offences including treason, misprision of treason and two counts of harbouring,” according to a government statement. Koroma maintained his innocence, and even posted on X condemning the attempted coup. His supporters equally rejected the charges and protested outside the court at his arraignment. Koroma is of the APC and there was suspicion of government crackdown against opposition under the guise of the coup trial. That suspicion was shared by sub-regional leaders, hence the efforts plied to get Koroma out of Sierra Leone on amicable terms with the sitting government.

“Amidst ongoing electioneering, there is a higher national good than partisan advantage that political actors must seek”

Nigeria played a vital role, offering the ex-president asylum in Abuja as ECOWAS negotiated his departure from Sierra Leone. A high-powered delegation led by then Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo, his Senegalese counterpart, Macky Sall, and ECOWAS Commission President Omar Alieu Touray held peace talks in Freetown involving President Bio and Koroma to explore ways of toning down the political tension and foster an atmosphere for continuing national peace dialogue. Consequent to those talks, it was agreed that Koroma should leave Sierra Leone for temporary Nigerian asylum in January 2024, with the Bio administration expected to in due course discontinue all legal and administrative proceedings against him while continuing to disburse to him his benefits as former president, among other terms.

The Sierra Leonean government made good on the drive for reconciliation and pulled the criminal charges against Koroma in July 2026. In a public notice, the country’s Attorney-General, Alpha Sasay, said the criminal proceedings had been discontinued and the matter removed from the court’s docket. The notice also confirmed that all restrictions on Koroma’s freedom had been lifted with immediate effect. Vice-President Mohamed Jalloh later announced at a gathering of local leaders and residents in a stronghold of the ex-president that he was being expected back. “In the spirit of peace and national cohesion, the former president, Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma, will return to the country this weekend,” he said.

Koroma briefly returned to Sierra Leone in July after the charges against him were dropped, attending an ECOWAS summit at the invitation of Bio. His full return was on 6th September when he left Abuja, accompanied by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, and Foreign Affairs Minister Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu acting on instruction by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Former President Goodluck Jonathan was on hand to see off the ex-Sierra Leonean leader, saying in a post on X: “Nigeria was his home away from home for over two years, and I am grateful we could offer friendship, support and solidarity during that period. Working quietly with others, we encouraged dialogue and engagement with the Sierra Leonean authorities to help create the conditions for his safe and dignified return.”

Odumegwu-Ojukwu described Koroma’s return as concluding regional diplomatic and confidence-building efforts involving ECOWAS, the Nigerian government and other stakeholders. According to her, the initiative helped create conditions for improved understanding between President Bio and the predecessor, paving the way for Koroma’s temporary stay in Nigeria. “His conduct throughout this period reflected restraint, statesmanship and commitment to a peaceful outcome,” she added in a statement by a media aide. Odumegwu-Ojukwu further said sustained engagements during Koroma’s stay in Nigeria contributed to resolving the issues that had necessitated his relocation. She expressed appreciation to Bio, Koroma and the people of Sierra Leone for their cooperation and commitment to peace.

On his visit to the State House upon returning to Freetown, Koroma thanked Bio for the decision to allow him back home. “Mr. President, it is good to be back here at home. I have to be here to thank you personally for the great decision you took on my return,” he said as he reaffirmed commitment to national cohesion and peace, stressing that his desire to contribute to Sierra Leone’s development transcended political differences. He also indicated that the experience acquired during his years in public service remained available to the country whenever needed.

At the meeting that was witnessed by Vice-President Jalloh, Bio welcomed Koroma home and struck an equally conciliatory tone, stressing that Sierra Leone needs the experience and contribution of its citizens regardless of political affiliation. “God has put you in this position before, and only a few of us can come here as president. It is good that you are back home,” he said. The parley, according to him, offered opportunity to reinforce the message that national development cannot be the preserve of one party, government or political tendency. Sierra Leone stands to benefit when the experience accumulated by former leaders is placed at the service of the country, he explained.

The encounter carried considerable symbolism because Bio and Koroma have stood on opposite sides of Sierra Leone’s political divide. Their respective parties – SLPP and APC – remain dominant forces in the country’s politics, hence their courtesy encounter underscored the supremacy of national interest over partisan division that accounted for Koroma’s departure more than two years earlier. It also highlighted the potential of dialogue between leaders separated by partisan differences.

Countries like Nigeria can learn from Sierra Leone’s experience. Amidst ongoing electioneering, there is a higher national good than partisan advantage that political actors must seek. Such good dictates there must be restraint on gladiatorial extremism that fuels violent confrontations and personal attacks, rather than debate on superior ideas for the benefit of the citizenry. Sierra Leone nearly tipped over the edge before pulling back, and no country need go that far.

Koroma acknowledged that his return alone will not resolve his country’s political differences. “Reconciliation is not concretised by a single decision or meeting. It requires continuing care, courage, restraint and mutual respect,” he said in a statement. That wisdom holds true for peace and stability in Nigeria beyond the giddiness of electioneering.