Does the Exercise of “Nolle Prosequi” by the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Pursuant to Sections 64 and 66 of the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone, Act No. 6 of 1991, and Section 45(1) of the Criminal Procedure Act, 2024, Act No. 8 of 2024, Permanently Bar the Charges Against the Defendant in the Matter of The State v Dr Ernest Bai Koroma (the Former President of the Republic of Sierra Leone)?

Does the Exercise of “Nolle Prosequi” by the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Pursuant to Sections 64 and 66 of the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone, Act No. 6 of 1991 and Section 45(1) of the Criminal Procedure Act, 2024, Act No. 8 of 2024, Permanently Bar the Charges Against the Defendant in the Matter of The State v Dr Ernest Bai Koroma (the Former President of the Republic of Sierra Leone)?

By taking a stance, the answer to the above question is no. A nolle prosequi entered by the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice does not permanently bar the charges. It operates as a discharge, not an acquittal, and the law expressly provides that such discharge is not a bar to subsequent proceedings against the same person on the same facts. In other words, the charges are only temporarily suspended — they can be revived or re-instituted later. The justification for this answer is set out below.