The NINJAS. Sunday June 27th 1999 "Since and after the elections in Nigeria I have committed my country to Sierra Leone, to seeking peace for your country, which means that our Nigerian troops will stay in Sierra Leone as peacekeepers. I don't see how troops can leave Sierra Leone.." -President Obasanjo 25/6/99

EX-PRESIDENT MOMOH, STEVE BIO EXECUTED?

Information reaching this press allege that the former president of Sierra Leone, Joseph Saidu Momoh has been executed by five bullets to the back of his head inside the Wellington Chanrai Soap Factory.

Also, the executions which allegedly took place last week claimed the lives of Steve Bio and many other former inmates of the Pademba Road prisons. Bio was the older brother of another Sierra Leonean Head of State, General Julius Maada Bio. Steve Bio was a presidential candidate in the National Unity Party primaries in 1996.

Both Bio and Momoh had been charged with treason last year but were appealing their sentences when they were freed from the prisons on January 6th.

The former political prisoners were said to have voluntarily given themselves up to ECOMOG. However, ECOMOG sources allege that "orders from above" had been given to them to "exterminate" the former prisoners.

When the ECOMOG spokesman Lt. Col Chris Olukolade was contacted by telephone to comment on the allegations that ECOMOG had shot in cold blood several political prisoners including President Momoh, he said to Ninja Abdul Akeem Bangura, "no comment."

It is not too clear what the reaction to the deaths of Ex-President Momoh or Steven Bio will be. Both men carried considerable clout amongst their followers.

The reaction from the rebel RUF and AFRC camps to the deaths of President Momoh and Steve Bio is being sought by the NINJAS.

The rebels who attacked Freetown told the frightened citizens that they were members of the former Sierra Leone Army seeking revenge for the deaths of their 24 comrades ten weeks before their onslaught.

Meanwhile, Brigadier Khobe yesterday in his first interview since the Jan 6th attack told Star Radio of Liberia that now he has learnt that when the rebels say they will strike a town it means that they will indeed strike the town regardless of if it is a suicide mission on their part.

Military Analysts have said that the rebel invasion into Freetown was indeed a suicide mission as almost 10% of the 10,000 rebels who attacked the city were killed. The dead rebels include the "Brigadier" who led the AFRC rebels into Freetown, Brigadier 55 as well as the former RUF spokesman, Gibril Massaquoi.

However, these rebels were killed during battle. Momoh and Bio were shot in cold blood by Nigerian soldiers acting on "orders from above."