TRRC – “Massacre of Migrants Never a National Security Must”, Says Intel’ Agent

The cover-up in the killings of West African Migrants was not a national security necessity but rather the cover-up of a shame. It’s the essence of testimony by Ebrima Drammeh, alias Jim Drammeh, Director of Operations at the Drug Law Enforcement Agency, The Gambia (DLEAG), before the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC).

Agent Jim Drammeh admitted to the TRRC that it was false when the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) wrote in a report stating, “The mass murder allegations made by the Ghanaians lacked substance.” “In that Investigations report, the NIA recommended for the killings of the West African Migrants, be downplayed in the interest of National Security.” He told the Commission.

When the TRRC Lead Counsel Essa Faal told him, “the NIA report was to cover-up a national Shame and not in the interest of National Security,” Jim Drammeh agreed.

Though the witness said the Gambia Government did concede that the migrants came to The Gambia, Jim Drammeh added that when the massacre became the subject of international attention, he was not Director of Internal Security and Operations. Lead Counsel Faal replied that every correspondence by the government was at the NIA’s records.

When Essa Faal told Jim Drammeh, “There was several misleading and manipulative information in the Investigations Report,” the witness responded that he never set an eye on the Investigations report, as he was not around. “Counsel, I cannot speak for the Gambia Government; I want to speak for the Taskforce,” said Jim Drammeh. Counsel Faal told Drammeh that he could still concede that the government denied the presence of “Jungler” Kawsu Camara alias Bombardeh to conceal that the massacre took the lives of 51 people.

Lead Counsel Faal told Jim Drammeh that the fact-findings missions established by the Gambia Government were only interested in the 8 Ghanaians killed in Tanji. At the same time, the International Community was interested in 56 Migrants. “Your Task Force lied so that you focus on the limits of those 8“. However, Jim Drammeh said the NIA lied because there was no cohesive information.

Jim Drammeh said that initially, his mind focused more on the Ghanaians (first eight migrants’ bodies found in Brufut). Only when “Jungler” Omar Jallow and others confessed at the Truth-seeking Commission that he knew the number of executed West African migrants could reach 51 people. “I could not imagine that over 51 people were killed when none of them was armed or taken to court.” He said when the newspapers and other media outlets published information surrounding the killing of the West African migrants, the Gambia Government knew the whereabouts of the others.

Jim Drammeh further admitted that all the Gambian intelligence community lied to the UN Investigators. Lead Counsel Faal added that the lies continued from 2005 to 2007 when the said investigators came to The Gambia.