By Ibrahim Jaffa Conde

Deputy minister of information and communication has defended the position of the Ernest Bai Koroma led government following what he described as calumnies being carried by some sections of the populace in the wake of the cocaine bust.

Mohamed Koroma told Concord Times that they have always been a democratic government that respects the Rule of Law, a principle that must be understood and adhered to in dealing with the welfare and security of the citizenry.

He stated that the Koroma government should not be misunderstood and misinterpreted because of the insightful way it has been handling investigations into the US$200 million cocaine saga.

“We must not be misinterpreted as a cosmetic of a military regime that does not follow the due process of the law, but a civilised setup that should be paralleled with other civilised nations in the world,” he said.

The minister noted that what happened at the Lungi international airport “has or had nothing to do with the day-to-day running of the government, especially now that the case is being strictly investigated by the law enforcement agency.”

He added: “We will never behave like the previous government, which interfered with the day-to-day running of the security apparatus of the state and even dictated the outcome of sensitive investigations.”