A total of 17 state witnesses are said to be testifying in the murder trial involving the former NIA Chief Yankuba Badjie and 8 others at the High Court in Banjul.
This was disclosed in court on Tuesday by the presiding judge Justice Kumba Sillah-Camara as she denied an application from MB Abubakar, the Deputy Director of Public Prosecution for the case to be adjourned for another two weeks.
“I will not give you two weeks but until next week. We will start sittings from Monday to Thursday and make sure you have all your witnesses ready and available” she said.
According to Justice Sillah-Camara, this case should be given priority due to its nature and for the fact that 17 witnesses are to be called by the state.
“This is the only criminal case in my court and we should always give priority to criminal cases” she noted.
She then adjourned the case until the 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th May respectively for the state to open its case.
The agency’s erstwhile Director General Yankuba Badjie, alongside 8 others namely; Louis Richard leese Gomez, his deputy, Saihou Omar Jeng, ex- director of operations, Babucarr Sallah, Yusupha Jammeh, Haruna Susso, Tamba Masireh, Lamin Darboe and Lamin Lang Sanyang are now charged with twelve counts of offence, ranging from conspiracy to commit murder, murder, assaults causing actual bodily harm amongst other charges.
