Gambian Politician alleges that President Jammeh Owns Intercepted Iranian Arms!

As Nyassi Calls On The UN Security Council To Take Drastic Actions Against Jammeh

By Pa Nderry M’Bai

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A leading Gambian politician Momodou Lamin Syngle Nyassi says the intercepted arms in Nigeria belongs to President Yahya Jammeh—charging that Mr. Jammeh has long been engaged in arms trafficking in the region.  Mr. Nyassi said Mr. Jammeh owns the Kanilai Farms, in which the intercepted arms, and building materials onboard the ship were addressed to. “ President Jammeh owns the arms. He is the owner of Kanilai Farms. He uses the Kanilai Farms to import building materials, arms, and other materials for his business.  I am convinced that President Jammeh owns the arms,” Mr. Nyassi alleged during an interview with  Freedom Radio Tuesday morning.

Mr. Nyassi, who is a longtime critic of President Jammeh, and his administration accuses Mr. Jammeh of acting in concert with Iran to traffic arms into the region.  Mr. Nyassi wondered why it took the Government about two months without reacting to the arms allegations.

“ This regime has been trafficking arms for a while now. It is now that they have been busted by the Nigerian Security officers.  They haven’t said a word about the arms intercepted in Nigeria. They thought that by expelling the Iranian Ambassador from The Gambia, it  would save them from this scandal, they must be kidding me.  This is a serious issue,” Mr. Nyassi alleged.

Mr. Nyassi, is the Propaganda Secretary for the opposition UDP, Gambia’s biggest opposition party. He said he fears for his safety in The Gambia, but that wouldn’t  prevent him from speaking the truth. He said nothing can stop him from speaking out.

“ If they want they can arrest me, but I shall continue to expose this regime. President Jammeh is a greedy leader, and that’s why he is into arms, and all kinds of businesses in this country. Wherever there is arms, and drugs, there is bound to be problem.  This President is engaged in all kinds of business,” Nyassi said.

“I think this thing has been going on for sometime now. God’s time has come. They have finally been exposed.  The President owns the arms. This is my conviction,” he further charged.

Mr. Nyassi also took a swipe at President Jammeh’s meddling into the Casamance crisis.  He accuses Jammeh of fueling the Southern Casamance region, with his bogus peace initiatives.  Nyassi said Jammeh is not the right person to broker for peace in Casamance—saying “ Jammeh himself is not clean.”  He said Jammeh has been linked to arms trafficking, and other corrupt practices in the region. He adds that a person of such questionable character is not fit to mediate for peace.

Besides arms trafficking, Nyassi said Mr. Jammeh’s sincerity in settling  the Casamance rebellion has been widely questioned both in The Gambia, and outside Gambia’s frontiers.  He said under the circumstances it is impossible for an alleged arms trafficker like Mr. Jammeh to bring peace in Casamance.

Coming back to the Gambian arms intercepted in Nigeria, Mr. Nyassi calls on the United Nations Security Council to take drastic actions against Gambia for allegedly securing arms from Iran destined for The Gambia. He said the regime has a case to answer.

“ I am calling on the UN Security Council to look into this matter closely and possibly deal with The Gambian President. He cannot use our country to traffic arms.  Iran has been banned by the UN Security Council.  There is an arms embargo against Iran, and for the President to secure arms from Iran for the purpose of trafficking is unacceptable,” Nyassi opined.

 Nyassi said The Gambian Government had signed protocols against arms trafficking, and wondered how comes that the regime can violate such protocols.  He said Jammeh is a bad omen for The Gambia, and her people.

“ Why do we need such arms? Why? Or is it that the Government is trying to traffic the arms to another country?” Nyassi asked.

Mr. Nyassi charged that the Jammeh regime expelled the Iranian Ambassador in a bid to frustrate investigations into the arms seizure. He said if the Government is not bent on undermining the ongoing investigations why cutting off diplomatic ties with Iran. He says Iran has been Gambia's major donor partner, and that all financial help extended to the West African country had been pocketed by President Jammeh.  He says Jammeh deals directly with the Iranian authorities, and as such there is no accountability in terms of funds given to the people of The Gambia, through the President.

“They know that they are involved in arms trafficking; that’s why they decided to expel the Iranian Ambassador. They want to preempt the investigations,” Nyassi alleged.

Mr. Nyassi said President Yahya Jammeh has been using his Kanilai Farms Company to import food aid, which he Jammeh in turn resells to starving Gambians. He accuses Jammeh of using his position to enrich himself to the expense of suffering Gambians.