Mr Alagie Conteh, a businessman and resident of Serekunda, last Friday, May 16th, informed the court presided over by Senior magistrate Kayode Olajubutu of Banjul magistrates court that some time in 2002, he had approached Abdoulie Kujabi, then an officer of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), to enquire as to whether there was any vehicle that the Government may want to dispossed off.

According to Alagie Conteh, Abdoulie Kujabi connected him to the accused “Manlafi Sanyang” who later told him about  the availability of two Government vehicles which were involved in an accident and were parked at Gamwater Company in Kanifing. “I later went, together with the accused, “Manlafi Sanyang “,  to inspect the said vehicles. I selected a pick up with registration number BJL 4591A , the front part of which was completely damaged.The accused charged D100,000 but we agreed at D75,000, which i paid’, he said.

Mr Alagie Conteh further informed the court that the accused told him to wait for the final approval for the sale of the vehicle. He said that the accused later called him to come and collect the transfer certificate. When he collected it, he went on, the certificate was signed by the accused, as the head of vehicle control unit at the State House. He fuether noted that the accused accompanied him to collect the said vehicle at Gamwater in Kanifing, after which he regularised the vehicle and started using it.

Mr Alagie Conteh further informed the court that the vehicle had once been impounded by personnel  of the NIA  on the grounds that the vehicle was illegally purchased.  He was then invited to the NIA Office, where he made a statement.

Continueing with his evidence in chief, Mr Alagie Conteh added that after some time, he was re-called to the NIA Office, where the then Director General (DG), Dabba Marenah, ordered the NIA  operations Commander to release the vehicle to him since he “ Alagie Conteh” had correct papers for ownership of the vehicle, and he said that from there on he had been using it untill in 2008, when he was called by the NIA  Officers to surrender the vehicle as it was illesgally purchased.