By: Nicholas Bass
A security guard at the United Vegetable Oil Company, Ahmed Modou Babou, testified before the Banjul High Court on Tuesday that cash has gone missing from the office save of the company’s CEO in the aftermath of an armed robbery at the company.
Testifying as the second prosecution witness in the trial of three individuals accused of orchestrating the attack, Ahmed Babou said following the alleged robbery, he discovered that money had gone missing from his boss’s office.
Babou narrated that at the time of the alleged robbery, he had gone to Banjul to buy dinner, adding that it was his brother, who called him to inform him that armed robbers had “invaded” the company. He went on to explain that he reported the matter to soldiers upon receiving the information following which, he drove with them in a taxi to the scene.
Babou told the court that he recognized the second accused Ansumana Jarju whom, he said, was the company’s mechanic responsible for maintenance works.
However, testifying under cross-examination led by Jarju’s lawyer A. Jallow, Babou admitted that he did not see Jarju at the crime scene. When further questioned by E. Sanneh, representing the third accused, Losseni Diabate, Babou confirmed he only heard about the missing money from the CEO’s office save. He, however, noted that he was prohibited from entering the CEO’s office, adding that part of his testimony was based on information provided to him and what he observed at the crime scene.
Abdoulie Jallow, Ansumana Jarju, and Losseni Diabate are undergoing trial for allegedly conspiring among themselves in December of last year to commit robbery at the United Vegetable Oil Company at the Denton Bridge area. The trio also stand accused of robbing United Vegetable Company of D400,000. They are alleged to have been armed with cutlasses and knives during the alleged robbery. The D400,000, the court heard, was under the custody of security guard Sadivi Hauya.
