Johnny Paul Koroma Major Johnny Paul Koroma ( born May 9 , 1960 ) was the Head of State of Sierra Leone from May 1997 to February 1998 . Youth and Education . Koroma grew up in Freetown , the capital of Sierra Leone . However , he was born in Tombodu , Kono District , in eastern Sierra Leone to Limba parents . He is from the same ethnic group as former Presidents Siaka Stevens and Joseph Saidu Momoh . He joined the Sierra Leonean army in 1985 , and went to Sandhurst Military Academy in England to train as an officer in 1988 . He returned to Sierra Leone the next year and was promoted to Platoon Commander , and soon thereafter to Company Commander . He continued to move up the ladder , and in 1994 he went to the Teshi Military College in Ghana to train in the subjects of Army Command and General Staff . Coups and civil war . Koroma received military training in Nigeria and Britain . He commanded government forces who were fighting against the Revolutionary United Front of Foday Sankoh . Koroma break grounds during the war and his success was his relationship with soldiers under his command because of this he was eye catching . In August 1996 he was arrested due to an alleged involvement in a coup plot against the southern civilian officials who were in control of the country . It was also alleged that the President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah was to have been killed . Koroma was freed from prison during a successful military coup on May 25 , 1997 , when 17 junior soldiers serving the Sierra Leone Army ( SLA ) break the central prison and made him a do or die offer that brought him to power . He advocated making a peaceful settlement with Sankoh and allowing him to join the government , though this never happened . After the coup in 1997 , Koroma was named Head of State and Chairman of the AFRC . Koroma invited the leadership of the Revolutionary United Front ( RUF ) to join the AFRC , which they promptly did . In order to maintain order , Koroma suspended the constitution , banned demonstrations and abolished all political parties . Armed Forces Revolutionary Council . The AFRC coup was accompanied by an explosion of violence against civilians throughout the nation ; the key strategic change was that the RUF had immediate access throughout the country , something they had failed to achieve through six years of military action . Koroma cited corruption , erosion of state sovereignty , over - dependence on foreign nations , and government failure to address tensions between the SLA and government - backed tribal militia movements ( in particular the Kamajors ) as the pretext for the coup . Koroma ' s story is consistent with the AFRC - the failings of the Abidjan Peace Accord struck between the Government of Sierra Leone and the RUF on 30 November 1996 . Involvement of ECOMOG . By 2 June 1997 , the RUF / AFRC found itself at odds with Nigerian forces , which were deployed unilaterally at this stage under the Economic Community of West African States ( ECOWAS ) Ceasefire Monitoring Group ( ECOMOG ) and its mandate of August 1997 ) . The Nigerians were stationed in and around Freetown ' s Western Area , trading mortar fire along the main highway into Freetown and around the Freetown International Airport . Koroma immediately sought to ease the situation , seeking mediation , which resulted in the signing of a peace accord in late October 1997 in Conakry , Republic of Guinea . Almost immediately , violations of the peace accord were perpetrated by all sides to the complex conflict in Sierra Leone . By January 1998 , ECOMOG forces were preparing to oust the RUF / AFRC from power . On 6 February 1998 , ECOMOG forces invaded key locations in the Western Area , removing the RUF / AFRC entirely by 12 February 1998 . On 1 March 1998 , ECOMOG forces commenced operations in provincial Sierra Leone , removing the RUF / AFRC from every key town except Kailahun ( in the far east of the country ) . By December 1998 , RUF / AFRC forces had reversed this position , entering Freetown in January 1999 . Failing to hold territory , the RUF / AFRC retreated into the Northern Province of Sierra Leone . Lomé Peace Agreement . The leadership of the RUF led peace negotiations with the Government of Sierra Leone led to the signing of the Lomé Peace Accord on 7 July 1999 . Koroma was cut out of both negotiations and the AFRC did not benefit from the substantive provisions of the agreement . Nevertheless , Koroma participated in the disarmament process , encouraging those SLA soldiers that had joined the AFRC to demobilize . By 2000 , Koroma no longer held significant influence over the RUF leadership , as evidenced by the involvement of ex - AFRC members ( from a splinter group called the West Side Boys ) in defending towns in Port Loko District against a renewed RUF offensive in May 2000 . In August 2000 , Koroma officially disbanded the AFRC and sought to consolidate his political position through the formation of a political party . Special Court for Sierra Leone . In early 2002 , the Government of Sierra Leone and the United Nations signed a bilateral treaty establishing the Special Court for Sierra Leone , mandated to try those who " bear the greatest responsibility " for crimes against humanity , war crime s and other serious violations of international humanitarian law . According to the indictment , the RUF and AFRC , under the orders of Koroma , led armed attacks in Sierra Leone wherein the primary targets included civilians , humanitarian aid workers , and UN peacekeeping forces . These attacks served the purpose of terrorizing the population as a form of punishment for not supporting rebel activities . These attacks included such crimes as looting , murder , physical violence ( notably mutilation s ) , employing child soldiers , sexual violence and rape , as well as kidnapping women and girls to be raped or turned into sex slaves . Men and boys were also abducted and forced to work or fight for the rebel groups . On 7 March 2003 , the Prosecutor of the Special Court issued his first indictments . For his role in the RUF / AFRC , Koroma was among them . Koroma fled Freetown in December , reportedly to Liberia . On 1 June 2003 he was officially declared dead under mysterious circumstances , claimed to be murdered . The Prosecutor has yet to withdraw the indictment against Koroma . An October 2006 newspaper headline in Freetown stated " Johnny Paul has 1 , 000 armed soldiers " . According to a report in September 2008 , Koroma ' s remains were found buried in Foya , a village in Liberia ' s Lofa County ; this was unconfirmed , however . Stephen Rapp , the Special Court for Sierra Leone ' s current Prosecutor , noted in a recent interview that DNA tests on the remains found in Lofa County did not match Johnny Paul Koroma ' s DNA . As of 2010 , many still believe Koroma was executed somewhere in Lofa at the hands of former Liberia President Charles Taylor . Three witnesses - Taylor ’ s former Vice President Moses Blah , former member of Taylor ’ s National Patriotic Front of Liberia ( NPFL ) rebel group Joseph Zig Zag Marzah , and a protected witness - each testified that while they did not witness Koroma ' s execution , Taylor did tell them about it . In October 2010 , Taylor ' s defense team filed a motion to have these testimonies removed as evidence , alleging that the prosecution bribed these three witnesses , but this motion was rejected the following month .