It’s going to be a dark Christmas for those indicted in the recently held Commission of Inquiry as barrister Lahai Momoh Farma, the Principal Legal Consultant in the Office of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, has called on those indicted for abuse of office and corruption to either repay on Christmas eve, 24th December 2020, or face the brunt of the law.
According to Farma, December 24 will be about 90 days (three months) since the government White Paper was published by President Maada Bio, giving the indicted a grace period of 90 days.
The law officers will start enforcing the recommendations of the White Paper immediately after the expiration of the grace period; however, those who have not entered into any plea bargain or haven’t started repaying will be forced to comply with the recommendations, he reiterated.
The Principal Legal Consultant revealed that they have received offers from a good number of people and institutions that have agreed to pay back into a special bank account set up for that purpose by the Accountant General’s Office.
He said they have already received 58 appeals from indicted persons, and they are presently working on preparing responses to all of them.
Minister of Information and Communications Mohamed Rahman Swaray reiterated that the White Paper recommendations will be implemented to the letter, adding that anyone who gets in the way of its implementation will face the wrath of the law.