By Sorie Ibrahim Fofanah
The Office of National Security (ONS) has unequivocally condemned posts making rounds on social media calling on parents and guardians not to send their children to schools come September when schools reopen, threatening mass protests across the country.
Speaking to Politico in an interview on the 31st of August this year, the Deputy Director for Strategic Communications and Spokesperson of ONS, Abdul Karim Will said they are concerned about various social media posts from anonymous authors intending to ‘paint’ a picture of that an unstable country.
He said their response to the said audio is not to give prominence to the authors but to allay the fears of the general public.
Those people are Sierra Leoneans who are residents abroad and want to portray the country in a very bad light, on the pretext they are outside the jurisdiction of the country, hence cannot face the law, Will charged, saying they are making a big mistake.
He said ONS also condemns audio from a purported clergywoman, calling on parents and guardians not to send their children to schools, admonishing the public not to fall for such calls.
“Parents and guardians are encouraged to send their children to school,’’ he said.
The Deputy Director said they don’t want people to fall short of the law, which is why they duly inform the public.
He encouraged the public to trust in the security sector, saying the security remains alert and has the capacity to protect ‘law-abiding citizens’ in Sierra Leone. “As long as people are law-abiding, let them go about their normal businesses,’’ Will said.
He spoke about Sierra Leone being ranked 1st in West Africa, 3rd in Africa, and 47th in the world for peace, an enviable position that he said some people living abroad want to undermine, and which he said people living in this country must resist
Will said MHS Trent, a British Naval boat that came to Sierra Leone to provide training to sailors of the Naval Wing of Sierra Leone’s Armed Forces, and not to protect the British medical charity vessel Mercy ships berthed at the Freetown Port, as falsified on social media.
He said in 2020/22 IPC rated the Sierra Leone Marine as one of the most resilient countries where ships would come to do business, adding the security has been upgraded. The deputy communication director also stated that they have received a lot of accolades for protecting the country’s maritime borders.
Will also said clearance for protests must be sought through the right channels and not social media.
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