PIU officer leg broken as Senegalese vehicle refuses to stop at checkpoint

The driver at the time of gathering the report was still at large. However, a source who is familiar with the matter and spoke to The Point on the condition of anonymity said the driver, after committing the incident escaped and ran into an unknown destination within the Senegalese territory.

The vehicle with the registration number FK 0616A, our source added, is a Senegalese commercial vehicle commonly known as “Geleh Gelleh”. This incident was reported to occur recently around Saba Sukoto in the Ngain Sanjal District of the NBR between the hours of 10 a.m. and 11 a.m.

Our source further added: “The PIU officers and some police officers were on their normal checkpoint on the main highway of the NBR. When the said vehicle arrived, as usual, the police decided to stop the vehicle at the said checkpoint with a view to check what was inside the vehicle.”

“Unfortunately, the driver refused his vehicle to be searched by the police. In fact, the police later realised that the said vehicle was half tinted; hence they couldn’t see anything which was inside the vehicle. This was what the police wanted to verify. So, when this happened, Sgt. Kalilou Fadera was standing in front of the vehicle and wanted to stop the vehicle from going.”

“The driver then decided to speed towards him. Sgt. Fadera, who was standing in front of the vehicle also decided to hold on to the vehicle while the driver was trying to escape The Gambian law enforcement officers.”

“The driver refused to stop. Sgt. Fadera then decided to hold the vehicle properly. Unfortunately, for the officer, the driver decided to take a bad road and officer Fadera fell down leading to his leg broken. The driver then decided to run into an unknown destination.”

Meanwhile, another source who spoke to our reporter, said the senior command of the Police, Immigration among other security units in Farafenni visited the Senegalese authorities in the area with a view to discuss with them about the incident.

The Point has learnt that Sgt. Fadera was later hospitalised at the Farafenni General Hospital for medical treatment. However, the officer at the time of penning this report was discharged from hospital.