Former Accountant General of The Gambia, Mr Alieu Jobe, said he turned down the offer of presidency by late Colonel Ndure Cham, the mastermind of the 2006 Abortive coup.
Mr. Jobe who appeared before the Truth Commission on Monday, said he was excited for his new appointment as the head of accounting in the country.
The former Accountant General disclosed his interaction with the former Army Chief of Defence Staff CDS Colonel Ndure Cham who was his relative on the plan to overthrow the government of The Gambia. He also disclosed some of the reasons advance for the alleged coup which includes the unprofessional conduct of the army, human rights abuse and corruption amongst others.
“Ndure Cham’s idea was to form a civilian government. He indicated that he would want to push my candidature as head of the new civilian government,” said Mr Alieu Jobe, the former Accountant General of The Gambia.
“I declined the offer because I was newly appointed to the position of Accountant General. I did not think the transition government would last more than 4 years,” he said.
The former Accountant General adduced that the history of military coups in the region, never accepts civilian leadership which was another reason for declining the offer.
In March 2006, there was rumours of a foiled coup that led to the arrest of military and government officials suspected of being part of the coup and were taken to the Mile 2 Central Prisons in Banjul.
“I was arrested by the Musa Jammeh alias “Maliya” with two soldiers who were armed with AK47 guns at my office,” he remarked.
He explained how he was detained at the notorious Mile 2 Central Prison and locked in one man cell without access to lawyer or family members for 90 days. Sometimes, he would be taken for torture sessions at the defunct National Intelligence Agency NIA Headquarters.
“I was escorted by junglers with my hands cuffed from behind. They asked me to kneel down and a plastic bag was put over my head and they started beating me with sticks indiscriminately. Sometimes, they will hit me on the face and my mouth started bleeding,” he asserted.
He mentioned Sana Manjang, Michael Correa, Modou Jarju alias Rambo and Malick Jatta as junglers who tortured him.
Meanwhile, the witness revealed that Lang Tombong Tamba, Ousman Sonko, Musa Jammeh alias Maliya, Momodou Hydara and Foday Barry were among the panel that questioned him at NIA Headquarters.
