On 10th August, 2022, a violent insurrection motivated by social media hate and incitement rocked parts of Sierra Leone leaving 6 police officers and other civilians dead. This prompted, among other interventions, a need for capacity building among the officers in the Sierra Leone Police Service in the area of forensic evidence.
Against this backdrop, the AGA-Africa Programme collaborated with the Sierra Leone Police Service on a highly engaging workshop titled ‘Cybercrime and Digital Evidence’ held on 9th-11th October, 2023, in Hastings, Sierra Leone.
The workshop brought together 40 investigators from the Cybercrime Unit of the Sierra Leone Police as well as regional subject matter experts from Ghana, Kenya and Zambia.
The workshop was aimed at equipping the participants with knowledge and skills on the handling of digital evidence in the investigation of cyber-related offences as well as tracking of electronic devices, extracting and maintaining the integrity that will ensure successful convictions in Sierra Leone.
Melia Bangura, Deputy Superintendent, Sierra Leone Police kicked off the workshop with opening remarks.
Speaking at the opening, John Edozie, International Advisor, AGA-Africa Programme noted that police officers play a crucial role in the gathering and handling of evidence. “The criminal justice system starts with the police and the investigation of a crime. What happens at this stage of the system affects every other part of the system,” he said.
ACP Esther Dukuray, Director of Training, Sierra Leone Police delivered the keynote on behalf of IGP William Sellu, Inspector General of Police, Sierra Leone. “What you are seeing here today is as a result of many consultative talks between the AGA-Africa Programme and Sierra Leone Police. Go forth with knowledge and skills from this workshop to curb the menace of cybercrime in Sierra Leone,” she said.
The engaging sessions were facilitated by Dr. Herbert Gustav Yankson, Assistant Commissioner of Police and Deputy Commandant of the Ghana Police Academy and Former Director of Cybercrime Unit and the Digital Forensic Laboratory of the Ghana Police Service, Ghana, Davies Chimota, Head of Digital Forensics, Forensics Science Laboratory, Zambia Police Service, Alex Osunga, Security Operations Center Technical Lead, @iLabAfrica, Kenya, Brima Sesay, Head of Department Peace Support Operations Training, Sierra Leone Peacekeeping and Law Enforcement Academy, ACP Mohammed Bendu Kamara, Head of Dept. for Law and Investigation, Sierra Leone Peacekeeping and Law Enforcement Academy, ACP Kabba Lavalie, Supervisor for Cybercrimes Investigations, Criminal Investigations Department, Sierra Leone Police and Superintendent Mohammed Sidibay, Head NCB-Freetown (INTERPOL), Sierra Leone Police.
ACP Allien Jacob, Commandant Police Academy, Sierra Leone Police, ACP Esther Dukuray, Director of Training, Sierra Leone Police and Chukukere Unamba-Oparah, AGA-Africa Programme Director and Country Coordinator for Kenya spoke at the closing ceremony.
IGP William Sellu graced the occasion and also made closing remarks.
Mohammed Bendu Kamara, gave the vote of thanks officially closing the workshop.
Workshop Outcome
Through this workshop the participants:
- Enhanced their knowledge on how to obtain, preserve and maintain the credibility of digital evidence.
- Equipped themselves with knowledge on digital evidence acquisition from computers that can be presented in court for successful convictions.
- Were equipped with the knowledge and skills on the legal authority of an investigator in handling electronic evidence.
