Rodrigo Duterte, the former president of the Philippines, is currently in detention in The Hague following his arrest for cocaine war, human rights violations and murder. Similar charges may warrant the arrest of the illegal Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio in the not-too-distant future. (Photo: Maada Bio is next to face ICC).

This similitude between the two corrupt politicians has further dented Maada Bio’s hopes and aspirations for a free ride in the future after life at State House. The International Criminal Court ICC is a patient bird that observes every suspect suspected of committing heinous crimes.

The arrest and detention of Rodrigo Duterte yesterday has sent panic chills through the corridors of power in Freetown as Maada Bio, who is in faraway Barbados for a meaningless Energy Forum 2025 meeting, is presently unsettled, fearing that he might be the next ICC detainee.

Not only is Maada Bio jittery, but there are hundreds of corrupt politicians and others in Sierra Leone from both the ruling SLPP regime and the main opposition APC party who are culpable for crimes against humanity and who have been suspects since April 4, 2018, when Bio took power. (Photo: Rodrigo Duterte in detention).

Many other bad Sierra Leoneans are blameworthy, thus the erection of the ICC and Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone RSCSL offices in Freetown where the Flame for Justice is burning brightly awaiting the adjudication of justice for thousands of innocent victims.

Former President Duterte’s arrest is a serious warning to Sierra Leone’s illegal President and travel-mad Julius Maada Bio, who is being closely monitored by the ICC for similar crimes. Through Interpol, Duterte was apprehended and shuttled to Den Haag yesterday.

Political observers are of the fervent belief that very soon, Maada Bio would soon face ICC warrant of arrest for cocaine trade and crimes against humanity. Europe’s most wanted drug baron, Bolle Jos, found hidden in Sierra Leone, has escalated Bio’s predicaments.

Not to mention the electoral justice process that was born and later produced Tripartite that resulted in the 84 recommendations, which have eventually shown concrete pieces of evidence that Bio stole the June 24, 2023, elections, stealing it from the legitimate winner Dr Samura Kamara of the APC.

With electoral justice and the cocaine trade issues dangling over the head of Bio, the freedom of Maada Bio may come to an end sooner rather than later. These are signs that Bio and all the suspects in Sierra Leone should be wary of the ICC dragnet. (Photo: The plane that took Duterte from Manila to Den Haag).

The unelected President Maada Bio should have learnt a bitter lesson when his two SLPP emissaries, i.e. former Justice Minister Mohamed Lamin Tarawally and ex-Internal Affairs Minister Talluvah, resigned instantly after they returned from the ICC in The Hague.

Sources say the two former SLPP Ministers’ sudden resignations could have emanated from what they saw at the ICC. The indictable documents and evidence shown to the two SLPPs were enough proof to show that the days of Maada Bio are truly numbered. More details on Duterte news –

Rodrigo Duterte in ICC Custody After Arrival in the Netherlands

By Special Correspondents

Former Philippine president expected in court within days as daughter accuses Manila government of ‘kidnapping’. The former Philippine president, Rodrigo Duterte, has landed in the Netherlands and been taken into the custody of the international criminal court (ICC) on allegations of overseeing death squads in his bloody “war on drugs”. Police arrested Duterte in Manila on Tuesday and placed him on a private jet to Rotterdam.

The plane landed on Wednesday afternoon and taxied into a hangar. An ambulance dropped medics off nearby before they wheeled a gurney inside the aircraft. The ICC later released a statement saying Duterte had been “surrendered to the custody” of the court. It added that “as a precautionary measure, medical assistance” was made available for him at the airport, in line with standard procedures when a suspect arrives.

Nicknamed “the Punisher” in the Philippines for his lethal approach to policing, Duterte, 79, is expected to be taken to an ICC detention unit and then brought before a judge for his initial court appearance in the coming days. During his years in office, Duterte oversaw a crackdown on accused drug dealers and drug addicts in which as many as 30,000 civilians were killed, usually by police and vigilantes.

He is the first former leader of an Asian country to be served with an arrest warrant filed by the ICC. Lawyers for Duterte filed a petition on behalf of his youngest daughter, Veronica, accusing the government of “kidnapping” him and demanding it bring him back. Duterte’s eldest daughter, Sara, the country’s vice-president, left for Amsterdam on Wednesday morning to help with his legal preparations.

Courtesy: The Guardian – Photos: Lisa Marie David/Reuters and Aaron Favila/AP