Daily Observer: Two staff released, one in custody

Assan Sallah                    Alagie Jobe

Mafugi Ceesay

Three staff of the Daily Observer, Gambia’s biggest newspaper, were arrested and detained by the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), The Voice Newspaper has gathered.

The three are Alhagie Jobe, Editor-In-Chief, Assan Sallah, a news editor and Madikhan Jobarteh, who works at the production department of the paper.

Editor Jobe was reportedly arrested by the NIA on Thursday 7 Feb., 2013 and is still believed to be held at the NIA headquarters in Banjul. As of Wednesday, he remained in custody.

A source at the paper told The Voice that Jobe’s arrest and detention is in connection with attempting to facilitate asylum to an unnamed person. However, this information could not be independently verified.

The source added that Mr Sallah’s arrest on is in connection to Jobe’s arrest. He was picked up from work Monday Feb. 11 and detained overnight before he was released on bail on Tuesday evening. Mr Sallah was asked to report to the NIA on Wednesday.

Mr Jobarteh was also reported arrested on Thursday, the same day that Jobe was picked up, but was released that same day.

A source told The Voice “no conditions are attached to Joberteh’s release”.

Asked to confirm the trio’s arrest, the spokesperson of The Gambia Police Force Assistant Superintendent David Kujabi told The Voice: “I wouldn’t know, I have been away for a week”.

“As you can see am currently inside the Ferry coming from Dakar. In fact its news to me, you are the first to let me know about that. I haven’t reached my office yet, may be later,” he told our reporter.

Last month three senior staffs of the paper were questioned in relation to alleged financial misappropriation at the Observer Company, the publisher of the Daily Observer newspaper.