Press release
The Guardian Intelligence and Investigative Service, a private security firm, is offering up to D25,000 for information leading to the location or identification of the armed robbers who attacked the Kunkujang Keitaya police station on Wednesday 3 May 2023, which left some officers injured. The robbers allegedly attacked the station and stole a mobile phone owned by one of the police officers.
The reward offered by the organisation on Monday also covers any information that could lead to the arrest of individuals responsible for the attack.
The organisation’s statement reads: “On Saturday, 25 February, 2023, we wrote an article about our security analysis and risk assessment on how there are security vulnerabilities at police stations, court houses, and other government institutions in the Gambia and offered some tips on what countermeasures to put in place to make sure that officers and civil servants in these facilities are well protected and prepared for incidents like the robbery that happened on 12th February, 2023 at the PIU checkpoint in Fass Njaga Choi and on 3rd May, 2023 at Kunkujang Keitaya Police Station (according to What’s On Gambia news platform).
“On Thursday, 2nd February 2023, we also urged the government especially the interior minister, Seyaka Sonko to put measures in place to train and arm our officers with handguns and rifles especially the ones on the frontline to make sure that these armed robbery attacks at police stations or checkpoints do not happen again. Internal security access control such as CCTV cameras, digital Daily Visitor Log (DOL), police reception desk with glass shield, and security doors should be put in place at our police stations, immigration, courthouses, and ministry offices to digitally keep track of visitors. This would have been a great advantage in the robbery attack at Kunkujang Keita-ya police station because investigators would have been able to go back and trace activities prior to the incident and seek help from the public to see if anyone would recognise the suspects based on their clothing, the way they walk, or talk, but because countermeasures were not put in place, identifying, apprehending, and bringing the robbery suspects to justice would almost be impossible to do because investigators do not have anything that would direct them to the suspects.
It has been long overdue to take back the country from these criminals who have no regards and respect for our law enforcement officers and laws of the land by legally and aggressively enforcing the laws to the fullest.”
