Days after the police recorded a remarkable success in solving a spate of armed robberies and violent crimes, a much relieved police chief Seedy Touray yesterday fought back at critics accusing them of ridiculing the police at a time when they needed public understanding and cooperation the most.
Addressing a press conference at the Anti-crime Unit’s offices at Banjulding in the aftermath of the arrest of suspects, IGP Touray said the police have been subjected to all sorts of ridicule during the last few days since the robbery cases surfaced: “We have been ridiculed and sent to tatters with all sorts of things said against us. We accept this in good faith and we are not apportioning blame on anybody because that is what we signed for,’’ IGP Touray said.
But he assured that he would be the first to quit his job if the Gambia police is unable to protect lives and properties of the people of this nation.
‘But equally, as the institution tasked with the protection of lives and properties, when certain things happen, we expect people to give us time and support in information gathering to be able to get to the bottom of the issues,’’ he said.
He said violent crimes including robberies are not new in the country as there have been several incidents long before the present government came to office. “The first robbery incident happened in 2014 when the GTBank in Bakau was robbed and the principal suspect in that incident is also a suspect in the recent Access Bank incident. The Central Bank too, which is just at the corner from state house, was attacked by armed men during former president Yahya Jammeh’s regime. But it seems that we are forgetting all that and everyone is ridiculing and maligning the police for anything these days,’’ IGP Touray lamented.
Giving a rundown of the state of the recent robbery cases, the IGP revealed that the same suspects accrued out the robbery at Access Bank, the one at Senegambia in 2022, the attack on Gam-Food complex at Denton Bridge and this week’s robbery on Hella Shop in Banjul.
Three suspects, Ansumana Jarju, Abdoulie Jallow and Ousainou Jobarteh were presented at the press conference.
The police chief also reported that his men recovered a total of D599,000 and CFA 710,000 from the proceeds of the attack on Hella Shop, and D390,000 from a taxi driver who participated in the Access Bank robbery.
Unnumbered vehicles banned
IGP Touray announced a new directive that no vehicle should henceforth use Gambian roads without number plates.
The alleged suspects used a BMW with no number plates during the attacks on Access Bank and El Hella shop in Banjul.
“From today, any driver or who wants to enjoy the comfort of your vehicle, please make sure you have your number plates fixed on your car. Failure to do so will result in the car being impounded and heavy fines imposed on the spot,’’ he declared.
