Gambiaj.com – (Freetown, Sierra Leone) – Sierra Leone’s First Lady, Fatima Bio, has publicly dismissed calls for accountability following an investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) that exposed her family’s acquisition of over $2.1 million worth of luxury real estate in The Gambia.

In a defiant Facebook post and subsequent hour-long video, Madam Bio said she owed “no explanation” to the journalists behind the probe, which uncovered that she, her mother, and two half-brothers acquired at least ten high-end properties — including villas, beachfront apartments, and a four-storey apartment complex — since her husband, President Julius Maada Bio, took office in April 2018.

The OCCRP report, published on May 10 in collaboration with The Times of London, revealed the developments also include a 70-bedroom hotel project along Gambia’s Atlantic coast. The source of funding for the acquisitions remains unclear.

Responding shortly after the publication, the First Lady accused OCCRP of “blackmail,” claiming the reporters took photographs of properties and “claimed ownership without documentation.” She further alleged that she had been given only 24 hours to respond to the organization’s inquiries.

However, her own video displayed an email that contradicts this claim, clearly showing she was provided nine days to respond to the findings — including specific questions about the origin of the funds used for the purchases.

“I refused to answer him because I had absolutely nothing to tell him and I owe him no explanation,” Bio stated in the video, referring to the OCCRP journalist.

The First Lady also attempted to link the investigation to a separate legal dispute involving Koidu Limited, a major diamond mining company in Sierra Leone.

Following her participation in a protest by Koidu mine workers in March, the mine’s parent company, Octea Limited, filed a legal claim in May demanding $20 million in damages, alleging her involvement had harmed its operations. Bio suggested, without evidence, that OCCRP’s investigation was orchestrated by the mining firm in retaliation.

POCCR has a history of investigating Koidu Limited and its former owner, Israeli businessman Beny Steinmetz, over alleged human rights abuses and corruption in the mining sector. The organization denied any connection between its investigation into the First Lady’s properties and the legal dispute with Koidu.

In a further development, the investigation also found that Fatima Bio appears to maintain tenancy of a council flat in Southwark, London — a form of publicly subsidized housing meant for low-income residents — despite living at the presidential lodge in Freetown and owning multiple luxury properties in The Gambia.

Southwark Council, while declining to comment on individual cases, emphasized that public housing should be reserved for those in genuine need and said it routinely investigates allegations of tenancy fraud.

The revelations have sparked widespread criticism in Sierra Leone. The main opposition party, the All People’s Congress (APC), condemned the scandal in a statement, saying the country “continues to face international embarrassment under the Bio-led administration.”

Sierra Eye, a leading local publication, echoed the sentiment in a scathing editorial: “We are plagued by immense poverty and cannot afford leaders whose families appear to amass fortunes abroad while preaching reform at home.”

Despite the mounting pressure, key government figures — including Information Minister Chernor Bah, Chief Minister David Sengeh, and the Anti-Corruption Commission — have so far remained silent.

The unfolding controversy underscores a growing disconnect between the government’s public rhetoric on transparency and governance and the personal conduct of those at the highest levels of power.

As citizens demand clarity and accountability, the First Lady’s response has only deepened concerns about impunity and elite privilege in one of West Africa’s poorest nations.