Nigeria has facilitated the safe return of former Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma to Freetown after more than two years of temporary relocation to Nigeria.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, accompanied Koroma to Sierra Leone on the instruction of President Bola Tinubu.
In a statement on Sunday, the minister said Koroma’s relocation to Nigeria in January 2024 followed engagements by the Economic Community of West African States aimed at promoting peace, stability and political understanding in Sierra Leone.
She said sustained engagements involving ECOWAS, the Nigerian Government and other stakeholders helped resolve the issues that had necessitated Koroma’s relocation.
“His conduct throughout this period reflected restraint, statesmanship, and commitment to a peaceful outcome,” Odumegwu-Ojukwu said.
Koroma, who led Sierra Leone from 2007 to 2018, left the country after being charged with treason and other offences linked to a November 2023 army uprising in which 21 people were killed.
He arrived in Freetown on Sunday alongside the Nigerian minister and former President Olusegun Obasanjo and was received by Sierra Leone’s Foreign Minister Mohamed Rahman Swarray and officials of his opposition All People’s Congress.
“Today I have come back home and I’m happy,” Koroma told journalists.
Koroma had initially been permitted to travel to Nigeria for three months for medical treatment but remained there for more than two years.
In July, Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Justice announced that the charges against him had been dropped without providing a reason.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu said Nigeria remained committed to regional harmony, constitutional order and democratic stability, expressing confidence that Koroma’s return would strengthen reconciliation and peace in Sierra Leone.
Koroma’s homecoming comes ahead of Sierra Leone’s 2028 presidential election.