Justice Naceesay Sallah – Wadda has been removed from office as from Thursday, apparently from the fall-out of the recent dramatic escape

Justice Naceesay Sallah – Wadda has been removed from office as from Thursday, apparently from the fall-out of the recent dramatic escape of a British national standing trial in Banjul, official sources say here Friday.While no official reason was advanced for Justice Naceesay Sallah-Wadda’s removal, but sources link it to the on-going investigations into the dramatic escape last week to England of Charlie Northfield, who was on bail for stealing and economic crimes of which she was the presiding judge.Northfield, the managing director of Carnegie Minerals Company Gambia Ltd, who was standing trial for illegally exporting some invaluable minerals more than a week ago allegedly made a dramatic escape from The Gambia when he jumped a US$450,000 bail granted to him by the High Court over charges of stealing and economic crimes.Northfield and his employers, the Australian mining company, Carnegie Minerals, were this year charged with stealing and economic crime by the authorities in Banjul who accused Northfield and the mining company of violating the terms of a contract they had with them which states that they should only mine ilmenite. However, according to the authorities in Banjul, Northfield and Carnegie Minerals were engaged in the illegal mining of other precious minerals such as titanum and iron ore.According to the UK-based Daily Mail newspaper, Northfield was smuggled out of the country ahead of his trial, by security expert Martin MacGowan-Scanion.As a result of Northfield’s escape, more than 40 security officials posted at the Gambia-Senegal border post at Amdallaye, where he was suspected of passing through were summarily dismissed on Wednesday.Justice Naceesay Sallah-Wadda’s sacking brings to four the number of high court judges dismissed since July.