Breaking News: Reports Of Imminent Attack On The Gambia, Bajinka’s Wife Detained & Stripped Naked At Amdalaye, Iran Opens Clandestine Military School At Kanilai, Edward Singhateh Weds Second Wife: An Echo Special Report
By Ebrima G. Sankareh
Highly placed sources at The Gambia’s most notorious and all too pervasive National Intelligence Agency (NIA) reveal that the entire state apparatus is in heightened alert following reports by Interior Minister Ousman Sonko and the NIA Deputy Director General Malamin Jarjou that Senegal was planning to invade the mini-West African state. According to our NIA report, numerous counter intelligence agents have been planted at all border posts since Friday May 4, and there has been increased troop movement along the nation’s porous borders.
A confidential memo signed by our most competent sources and sent to The Echo captioned: The Current Situation reads in pertinent part “As we write this report the worst is happening. The Deputy Director General Malamin Jarjou and Sonko have just met a nervous President Jammeh and during the briefing, informed him that Gambian dissidents; Sana B. Sabally, Major Kalifa Bajinka and Col. Ndure Cham with the assistance of the Senegalese government and some combatants trained in Liberia and Burkina Faso are poised to invade the country.” Says the report, “Jarjou in fact, told the President, that the weapons for the operation have since been smuggled into the country and while they could not say precisely where, their investigations have revealed that the Senegalese Customs aided and abetted the bandit as they smuggled the weapons into the country.” “Today our borders and ports are the focal point and not even a chicken can elude our agents,” says the memo. Last week, the NIA dispatched a team of counter intelligence agents to the Guinean town of Masuang where Sheriffba Jobe from Jarra and Mohammed Sowe from Foni are believed to be detained by the Guinea Bissau authorities. “Jobe and Sowe are hardened combatants trained in Libya and Jammeh wants their heads before it is too late.” Reveal our sources, “the NIA with the assistance of Gamtel keeps track of most international calls and almost all telephone calls from Senegal into the country are being monitored.”
Given this heightened state of alert and the suspicion of Major Bajinka in the alleged imminent invasion, the renegade soldier’s wife Fatou Dibba was arrested and detained no sooner had the NIA spotted her in a passenger vehicle from Senegal. An NIA source returning from Sokone who happened to ride in the same vehicle with Mrs. Fatou Dibba Bajinka picks it from where she was arrested. “Bajinka’s wife who appears desperate to locate her husband was detained at Amdalaye Border Post on Friday for several hours. She went through mental torture and harassment. She was asked to come out of the vehicle by our agent Momodou Manneh (a.k.a Dada) while I kept a distance because I was on a different mission in Sokone. Dada and the other boys stripped the lady naked and subjected her to rigorous search. As she wept, she kept asking Manneh what crime she committed. “Dada Manneh” alleged our agent, “insisted that his superior, a Demba Sowe, had instructed that Fatou Dibba be strip naked and he was only acting according to instructions from a superior.” “After the search, she was moved to a detention facility and subjected to rigorous questioning and finally let go with the understanding that she could be re-arrested if the need arises,” says our source. Asked who Demba Sowe might be our source described Sowe a an angry fellow who was once in the Police, rose to the rank of CMC but was sacked by Jammeh and later reinstated and redeployed to the NIA.
Iran Opens Clandestine Military School At Kanilai
In a related development, our Yundum Barracks whistle blower, Officer X (a.k.a. OX) reveals that the government of Iran now operates a Special Forces Academy at Kanilai under the command of one Colonel Jalal. Three other senior Iranian military officers assist Jalal one of whom is a translator. The students are taught various techniques of snatching, guerilla warfare and counter insurgency. There are 30 students in the current batch after 10 students dropped out of what our correspondent called “perhaps the most intensive military training I have ever seen.” In the current batch, at least eight of the recruits are Senegalese citizens from Cassamance although they claim dual nationality. “This academy is much more equipped than the one at Fajara Barracks” observers OX. According to OX, Captain Alhagie Martin (a.k.a. Lagos) and Lieutenant Kawsu Camara (a.k.a Bombarde) due largely to his clownish shows of lethality and propensity to unleash terror on innocent citizens, are two of the local instructors. According to OX, not all Gambian citizens can enlist in the academy, one has to exhibit certain tendencies and show overwhelming inclination towards the regime before you can matriculate to this Special Forces Academy.
Forestry Minister Edward Singhateh Weds Mariama Jallow
As news of Omar Faye’s legal saga with the Adams continue to send shock waves across the globe, his Cabinet colleague Edward Singhateh has also, jumped into the band wagon of literally seizing some one’s wife and then subsequently marrying her. We at the Echo can reveal that Singhateh who converted to Islam quite recently has wedded his long time fiance'e Madam Mariama Jallow as second wife. She will be co-wife to our good sister Aja Sighnyan-Singhateh from Gloucester in Banjul. According to our sources, Mariama was in the money exchange business (Bureau de Change’) and was married to one Fula man but due to Minister Singhateh’s continuous interference with Mariama's marriage, the husband had no choice but to call it quits. The family decided to send her to the UK for further studies and while en route to England, the NIA spotted Singhateh at the Airport’s VIP Lounge with Mariama hugging and kissing all over. Late last month Singhateh convinced the lady to discontinue her education so they can tie the knot.
Omar Ndow’s Charges Dismissed
As we went to press, our highly placed sourced at the NIA reveal that Gamtel’s embattled former MD, Omar Ndow has been set free after all the bogus economic crimes against him were dismissed. We are following the story and will report on the details as they come. In a related development, Madam Maimuna Taal has also been set free after all seven criminal charges against her were quashed by Justice Monegan of the High court in Banjul.