The Gambia government has warned former president Yahya Jammeh that he will face prosecution if he returns to the country.

The warning follows Jammeh’s announcement on Sunday that he plans to return home next month after nearly nine years in exile.

In a statement to The Standard newspaper, Information Minister Dr Ismaila Ceesay said that while Jammeh has the right to return as a Gambian citizen, he remains liable for prosecution over alleged human rights abuses identified by the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC).

“Jammeh, as a private citizen on self-exile, can come back, and if he does so, he would be subject to the due process of the law set out in the TRRC process,” Dr Ceesay said.

He added that the government has not played, and will not play, any role in Jammeh’s planned return.

“Government played no role — absolutely nothing whatsoever,” he said.

Jammeh has been living in exile in Equatorial Guinea since his 2016 election defeat to President Adama Barrow.