“Yes, I was questioned by the FBI regarding the coup,” Banka Manneh told The Standard. “They wanted to know my level of participation and what I knew.”
The probe came as the US government intensifies investigation into the attack, which left four attackers killed and one captured by government forces. The plot was planned on US soil and weapons were allegedly bought and shipped from there.
Federal prosecutors have already charged a Texas businessman, Cherno Njie, who bankrolled the attempted plot, and a former US Army sergeant, Papa Faal, one of the two retired US military men of Gambian origin identified as among the attackers.
Reuter’s news agency on Wednesday reportedly confirmed from unnamed two US officials that the ongoing FBI investigation covers “spy and law enforcement agencies as well as the White House and State Department”.
Meanwhile, shortly after been questioned, Banka declared his resignation from the Committee for Restoration of Democracy in The Gambia, (CORDEG) of which he was the information secretary.
Confirming his resignation, Banka said: “I had to [resign] because the executive of CORDEG was getting nervous about the attention I may draw to the organisation. I therefore decided to resign to spare the organisation the headache.”
In an executive summary available on its website, CORDEG claims to be ‘an independent, non-profit transnational democratic umbrella organisation that is committed to peaceful, non-violent democratic change in The Gambia. It is home to Gambian opposition political parties and civil society organisations at home and in The Gambia’s various Diasporas.”
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