The Gambia Police have granted bail to man alleged to have been master planner of the 2019 migrants’ capsized off the coast of Mauritania has won Police bail, Police spokesman Superintendent Lamin Njie confirmed.
At least 62 migrants died when their makeshift vessel capsized off the coast of Mauritania while dozens more survivors managed to swim to shore.
The boat was attempting to reach Spain’s Canary Islands – a perilous and poorly-monitored route along West Africa’s coast – when their boat hit a rock.
Most of the migrants came from The Gambia, according to the Mauritanian government and the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Ousman Bahoum’s bail comes days after survivors and victims’ families in Barra call for his arrest and prosecution.
Police spokesman Lamin Njie who spoke to The Voice said: “The investigation into the Barra boat incident is completed and report submitted to the Attorney General Chambers for legal advice.”
“The accused Ousman Bahoum wasn’t around at the time but immediately he returned, he was arrested and appropriate actions were taken. He is currently granted Police bail while the case awaits legal advice,” he added.
“We wish to implore on the people of Barra to contain their impatience and allow the due process of the law to take its course,” he said.
He assured urged Barra people that justice will be served.
He urged them not allow getting provocation and also not to take the law into their own hands.
