Sierra Leone Police has declared Valentine Tejan Barrie formerly of # 8 Fofana Street, Makeni wanted.
According to the Police, Valentine Tejan Barrie was among those who resisted the relocation of generating plants from Makeni by officials of the Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority (EDSA) was among those charged to court and sent to prison. It could be recalled sometime in July 2020, a team of EDSA officials went to Makeni city, north of the country to relocate thermal plants to another district. Makeni which happens to be the stronghold of the main opposition All People’s Congress Party is being marginalized by the current SLPP led Government of President Julius Maada Bio. It is understood that the two thermal generators which became a subject of commotion were given to the Makeni City Council by the Catholic Mission. Those two machines are being used to augment the city’s power supply anytime there is a blackout or problem from the Bumbuna Hydro Electric Power. The Bumbuna Hydro Electric Power has been in operation ever seen the previous APC government of former President Koroma assumed office. In his first term of office, President Koroma ensured the Bumbuna Hydro Electric Project which has been in the pipeline for thirty years is completed and that help in additional power supply to the main city of Freetown and other areas. Therefore, when the government of President Bio decided to relocate the thermal generators to another district, the people of Makeni saw it as a ploy by the government to deprive them of electricity. Youth within the township resisted the urge by the government to relocate those generators which led to the serious commotion that led to the loss of lives and destruction of properties worth billions of leones. It is understood that during the commotion, the police and military fired live bullets that claimed the lives of over ten people. The investigation also revealed that family members within the township later discovered that there were more than ten people to have gone missing apart from those killed. Valentine Tejan Barrie who was among those arrested and placed in detention was reported to have escaped from his detention cell and was declared wanted by the police alongside others for what the police described as “obstructions”. It was understood that Barrie together with some youth stood on the way of the EDSA officials who had come to relocate the thermal generators. The police have placed a bounty of ten million’ leones on Valentine Tejan Barrie as well as each of those declared wanted on the Makeni brouhaha. It is also understood that Valentine Tejan Barrie was labelled to be APC as there was evidence produced by the Sierra Leone Police in which Valentine Tejan Barrie was seen on a live video with the 2018 Presidential candidate of the All People’s Congress, Dr. Samura Kamara. The video in question, the police narrate is among their evidence to show that Valentine Tejan Barrie is a member of the APC. The Times SL Newspaper has been following the issue and will continue to keep the public abreast with the latest developments.
