FREETOWN, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- Former Sierra Leonean president Ernest Bai Koroma was summoned Thursday for questioning by the police to Freetown, the country's capital, over a failed attempted coup, according to a government notice.
"At around 11:00 a.m. today, the Sierra Leone police served a summon to the former President of Sierra Leone, Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma, inviting him to report at the headquarters of the Criminal Investigations Department in Freetown within 24 hours," said the notice issued by the Ministry of Information and Civic Education. "The former president is invited to assist the police in the ongoing criminal investigations into the Nov. 26 failed attempted coup in Sierra Leone."
Koroma's office later issued a statement, saying that former president Koroma would therefore be traveling from Makeni, a city about three hours' drive, to Freetown to honor the said invitation. "I maintain an open mind and stand ready to support the police investigations to the fullest. Let the rule of law reign supreme in our democracy," said Koroma in the statement.
On Nov. 26, some armed individuals attacked a military barracks, a prison, and other locations in Freetown, leaving more than 20 people killed in what the Sierra Leonean government said afterward was a failed attempted coup. ■