— Is Maj.-Gen. Charles Johnson III proposal for Reduction of powers for Presidential Guards An Option?
IPNEWS: Exactly a week since presidential guards sized power in Niger reports from neighboring Sierra Leone say some Police officers have arrested several people, including high-ranking soldiers within the Sierra Leone military, suspected to be planning violent attacks on citizens.
In a police statement late Tuesday, August 1, the country’s joint security forces stated that they have been following ‘intelligence regarding the activities of certain individuals, including senior military officers, working to undermine the peace and tranquility of the state’.
“In that regard, several arrests have been made and the suspects are assisting the police with the investigations.” The Joint Security statement read.
The statement further said that the suspects planned were using peaceful protests scheduled for next week “as a guide to unleashing violent attacks against state institutions and peaceful citizens.”
On August 10, 2022, economic and political protests in the capital Freetown and other cities spiraled into deadly clashes. Twenty-seven civilians and six police officers died that day and in the several days that followed, according to official figures.
Amnesty International said it had gathered testimonies alleging excessive use of force, and condemned internet restrictions.
The West African nation held general elections on June 24. President Julius Maada Bio was re-elected for a second term, according to official results, which the opposition disputes.
International observers noted “statistical inconsistencies” and condemned a “lack of transparency” in the
ballot count after the election
The opposition has refused to participate in local or national government, with all but one MP boycotting parliament. The suspects were taken into custody to prevent President Julius Maada Bio’s democratically elected government from being toppled, as it happened last week in the Republic of Niger when President Mohamed Bazoum was removed by the junta.
Bazoum was ousted in a military coup and General Abdourahmane Tchiani, also known as Omar Tchiani, took over the affairs of the country. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) led by Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has given the coup leaders to reinstate Bazoum in one week.
While foreign nations like the United States and France have thrown their weight behind the ECOWAS, Mali and Burkina Faso pledged their support to the military regime in Niger. (courtesy of the Guardian Newspaper)
Last week, the Chief of Staff to the Liberian Armed Forces, Maj.-Gen. Charles Johnson III proposed that the powers of Presidential Guards must be limited in ‘order to prevent more incidences of Coup d’etat in the ECOWAS region’.
General Johnson made this known while speaking with journalists on Thursday on the sidelines of the joint delocalized meeting of the ECOWAS Parliament’s Joint Committees on Political Affairs, Peace, Security, and the African Peer Review Mechanism, Judicial Affairs and Human Rights, Social Affairs, Gender, and Women Empowerment in Monrovia.
He said that member states must be mindful of how much control the military has, following the Coup d’etat that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum of Niger from power on Wednesday.
Johnson had earlier delivered a paper on the topic “The Role of the Armed and Security Forces in Political Government: The Cases of Mail, Burkina Faso, and Guinea, Lessons to be Learned and Prospects.
“My second recommendation was the issue of Presidential guard or elite forces that has direct control over the commander in Chief.
“So, if you look at what is happening even in Niger yesterday, it is the Presidential guards. And look at our history in Liberia, we have seen the issue of Presidential guards being misused.
“The Peace and Reconciliation Report of 2008 says that the Special Anti-Terrorism Unit was involved in a lot of alleged atrocities according to the report.
“That is why I emphasized that we need to be mindful and allow the military to have this control.
“When you have this political interference into the command and control of the military, like having a Presidential guard, the Commander in Chief selecting somebody to head it instead of allowing the CDS, Chief of Defense Staff DS to go through that process or having somebody to control, then it becomes a problem.
“Because the CDS or the Chief of Staff has no control over the unit because he takes direct control from the Commander in Chief”, he said.
Johnson III said that there is no justification for any military coup no matter the situation.
“No justification for all the military coups that have been happening, absolutely not,” Johnson added.
The Liberian Major General also advocated for dialogue with the embattled countries, noting that sanctions were not the best way to resolve such crises.
He said that terrorism will not be adequately fought if the countries are kept aside, adding that suspending them poses more threats, especially with border countries.
“So, my last recommendation is that we need to dialogue. We cannot fight terrorism if we suspend these countries.
“I have a border with Guinea, we need to protect that borderland between Liberia and Guinea. If our heads of state go ahead to sanction them, can you still allow me to work with Guinea?
“Because if I am not working with Guinea it is going to be difficult. That is why I recommended that we still need to dialogue”.
Johnson III said that the military must stick to its mandates of protecting the nation and not interfere in governance.
