Freetown, September 6th, 2023 – In a significant development during the ongoing Access to Justice Through Judicial Week, High Court Judge Honourable Justice Cosmotina Jarrett delivered a decisive verdict. She sentenced Abdul Koroma, a leader of a notorious robbery gang, to 70 years in prison.
Koroma stood accused of two serious charges, namely Conspiracy to commit Robbery and Robbery with Aggravation, as outlined in section 23(1)(a) of the Larceny Act 1916. Throughout the trial, victims Mala Tilwani and Lokash identified Abdul Koroma as the ringleader of a gang of eight armed robbers who had terrorized and robbed them.
During the harrowing incident, Lokash suffered severe physical abuse, nearly losing a finger as the robbers attempted to forcefully remove a valuable silver ring from his hand. The gang made off with property estimated to be worth over five hundred million Leones in old notes.
In a twist of fate, Honourable Justice Cosmotina Jarrett acquitted two other accused individuals, Ibrahim Conteh and Alusine Bangura, of their charges. Conteh faced accusations of Larceny in a dwelling House, as per section 13(a) of the Larceny Act 1916, while Bangura was on trial for the offense of Wounding with Intent, in violation of section 18 of the Offense Against the Person Act 1861.
The judge made the decision to discharge both Conteh and Bangura due to a lack of prosecution in their cases. This landmark verdict serves as a testament to the pursuit of justice and the enforcement of the law in Freetown’s Main Law Courts Building.
