By Mustapha Jallow
Sheikh Omar Colley, the Imam of a mosque in Jabang Borehole, is still held incommunicado at Janjangbureh Prison in the 
Central River Region (CRR) without any access to family or court appearance for 293 days as of today.
According to a close source, since Imam Colley’s arrest and detention on 15 October, 2015 his family is not aware of any wrong doing or charge made against him.
The source revealed that despite the several attempts they have been making to access him at his place of detention, they are not allowed by the Janjangbureh prison officials to see or send things to him.
“We are appealing to the authorities to set our loved one free to enable him reunite with his family after this long period of detention without charge or trial,” said the family source.
It was earlier reported that the arrest and detention of Imam Colley came about when he received a phone call from an unknown caller from Bansang who asked him to report to the Old Yundum police station and an instruction which he complied with. The caller asked him (Colley) to return the call when he reaches the said station and to give the phone to the station officer for the caller to talk to the person for further instructions. This was said to be at the time when the Imam was about to go to the mosque to perform his ‘Maghreb’ (twilight) prayers.
The source explained that some relatives accompanied Mr. Colley to the station and that while they were there, their brother called the said caller from Bansang to talk to the police officer they met there. This police officer later asked him to hand over all his personal belongings e.g. mobile phone, wrist watch, rosary beads, etc., and enter into the cell. He said the brother then complied with this police order.
He added that when they returned to the station around 7am the next day on Friday, they were told by the police officers they met on duty that their brother was no longer in their custody. He said the brother was later traced to the NIA headquarters in Banjul where he was held for 48 days before being transferred to his current detention at Janjangbureh Prison.
