Dr Prince Harding, the suspended transport and communications minister, has been arrested by the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) to help in the investigations of an alleged soliciting and accepting of an advantage while in office.
He was arrested alongside his permanent secretary Abdul Rahman Wurie, the acting director of civil aviation George Tamba Gbongbor and his deputy Babara Alieu Tarawally.
Their alleged crime, according to a press release from the ACC, stated that the four solicited and accepted an advantage contrary to its act of 2000 as amended in respect of the lifting of the ban on commercial flight operations of both Paramount Airlines and UT air.
Dr Prince Harding was suspended from office along with the acting and deputy directors of civil aviation, following the fatal crash of a Paramount helicopter on June 3 which was ferrying the Togolese sports minister and 18 others to the Freetown International Airport.
Two Russian pilots also perished in that crash, which has been recorded as the worst ever in civil aviation’s history in the country.
However, at the time of going to press it was not learnt whether the suspended minister and his three staff were being granted bail over the weekend as they were held in various police stations in the city.
It’s also learnt that the ACC is investigating the matter to prove whether the accused indeed received the advantage as being alleged.