The leader of The Gambia Action Party Lamin Bojang said he is a victim of cyber bullying and blackmail. Bojang was speaking in a phone conversation with the Editor of the Freedom Newspaper. This followed the circulation of a pornographic video, in which Mr. Bojang was seen in a compromising comportment. Bojang, who begged us to put the story on hold, until the police in Banjul finish their investigations on the matter, said the pornographic video in question was a fake video. “It is a doctored video. It is a fake video. That was not me. There are scammers, who are out to tarnish my image. I am innocent. They want to dent my image,” Bojang remarked.
Bojang said his scammers live in the West African country of Benin. He doesn’t know them. He said he was first threatened by the scammers while serving as a Gambian diplomat in Russia. He downplayed the threats and thought it was a joke.
To his surprise, Bojang, a former Gambian Army General, said it was few days ago that he received information that his naked pictures were being circulated on social media.
Bojang said he learned about the news of the scammers circulating his “fake pornographic video” on social media, shortly after he had taken part in a debate organized by The Gambia based Paradise TV.
“When this thing happened immediately, I had to deactivate my account and I contacted Interpol. And the person, who is doing this thing also contacted a friend of mine in the UK and requested that we give him 5,000 Euros. We started playing some tricks so that we can get the through identity of the person, who is on the background. I asked my contact to tell him, that we are going to send him the money; tell him to send us a national document, an ID or passport and also his details; so, he sent us information, his name, his sure name, the country, the city that he is; his telephone number. I supplied all this information to Interpol. He started sending voice messages to this guy, saying that if we send the money, they will not circulate the video. Who is this guy, who is doing this thing to me? This what I want to know,” A confused and shocked Lamin Bojang remarked.
Bojang has become the second prominent Gambian political activist, who has fallen victim of the Benin pornographic scam. Dr. Lamin Conteh, a Professor of Accounting in the United States, who was on the radar of the United Democratic Party (UDP) supporters, also had his pornographic video circulated on Facebook. This followed Conteh’s criticism of their party leader Ousainou Darboe.
Bojang, in a recent Freedom Radio interview, claimed that he was removed from his diplomatic post because Darboe and co thought that he was a Jolla. https://www.freedomnewspaper.com/2020/04/27/gambia-i-was-removed-from-my-diplomatic-post-because-ousainou-darboe-and-co-thought-that-i-was-a-jolla-when-i-am-a-mandinka-general-lamin-bojang-tells-freedom-radio-gambia/
He later walked back from his statement in a Gambia talents interview. This followed increasing pressure and insults he suffered in the hands of the UDP supporters.
“I also knew that they were using somebody’s Facebook account. That Facebook Account is what I continued to pursue, so, in the process of doing that I came to find out that the person, whose Facebook that they are using; in fact that is why I am at the police station, that person also had a similar problem in June. In June, his naked pictures and videos were circulated on the net. I reported this matter. Today, I was able to meet this guy, we met at the police, at the Interpol, that is where I am coming from now,” Bojang said.
Bojang has vehemently denied talking to any woman or having phone sex conversation with any lady. He says the video going round on social media should be treated as a fake video.
“They got my picture from Facebook. They got all the information from Facebook and my hacked phone. My phone has been altering me, recently my phone has been alerting me that you phone may be hacked. In fact, when I reported this matter at the Interpol, the first thing that they did was computer, just to see if they access my computer or my telephone. I told them that at some point I have been receiving information from telephone that my telephone may be hacked. All they need is a picture of your face. The guy I was with at the Interpol office, also, is a victim,” he said.
Editors note: General Bojang had earlier pleaded with us to put the story on hold until the police finish their investigations. As a media entity, we had a responsibility to report The Gambian story without fear or favor. As the saying goes: Be it good, bad, or ugly, the story should be reported. Thanks for your kind attention.
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