 After the coup, he remained in the GNA, becoming commander of State House Guards when a captain around 2000 and being responsible for the personal security of the Gambian president, Yahya Jammeh.He became a Lieutenant General in 2005 when he was appointed chief of staff of the Gambian Armed Forces (GAF) and later as Deputy Chief of Defense Staff in November 2005 as a Colonel.When the incumbent Chief of Defense Staff, Ndure Cham carried out an attempted coup on 21 March 2006, he was widely credited at the time with foiling Cham's attempt.