{
  "id": 6008853,
  "title": "Sierra Leone ex-president returns to country after treason case dropped",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/06/sierra-leone-ex-president-returns-to-country-after-treason-case",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-06T17:50:08.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "South China Morning Post",
    "slug": "south-china-morning-post",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3366564/sierra-leone-ex-president-returns-country-after-treason-case-dropped"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Former Sierra Leone president Ernest Bai Koroma has returned to his home country after treason charges against him over an alleged coup attempt were dropped. Koroma, who led Sierra Leone from 2007 to 2018, arrived at Freetown's international airport on Sunday, accompanied by Nigerian ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo and Nigerian Foreign Minister Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu. He was greeted by Sierra Leone’s Foreign Minister Mohamed Rahman Swarray and officials from his party, the opposition All People’s Congress (APC). Koroma had been cleared by Sierra Leonean authorities to travel to Nigeria for medical treatment but ended up staying more than two years longer than initially planned. The charges against him dated back to November 2023, when armed attackers stormed military and police facilities, resulting in 21 deaths. Koroma briefly visited Sierra Leone in July following the charges being dropped, during a summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) at the invitation of current President Julius Maada Bio. His return comes ahead of presidential elections scheduled for 2028.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Daily Post Nigeria",
        "title": "‘Obi squandered his opportunity to be Nigeria’s president’ – Kenneth Okonkwo",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/06/obi-squandered-his-opportunity-to-be-nigerias-president-kenneth",
        "published": "2026-09-06T15:32:36.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}