MONROVIA, LIBERIA – The Alternative National Congress (ANC) has called for an independent and impartial investigation into Liberia’s ongoing transnational cocaine case, warning that the government’s response must go beyond the arrest of former Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor and uncover the full network allegedly behind the movement of large quantities of narcotics.
In a statement issued in Monrovia on August 24 and signed by ANC Secretary General Desmond U. Nimely, the opposition party said the scale of the drug investigation requires a credible process capable of establishing who financed, organized, facilitated and benefited from the alleged trafficking operation.
The ANC said its position should not be interpreted as opposition to the government’s campaign against illicit drugs.
Instead, the party said it fully supports efforts to dismantle narcotics networks operating in Liberia, describing the movement of massive quantities of illegal drugs as a serious threat to national security, public health and the country’s young people.
“Those responsible must be identified and held accountable,” the party said.
But the ANC argued that accountability must be applied consistently and without political considerations, particularly as the investigation has become intertwined with the arrest of Howard-Taylor, a former vice president and prominent opposition figure.
According to the party, Howard-Taylor is entitled to constitutional protections, due process and the presumption of innocence.
The ANC said allegations against her must be established in court rather than through what it described as a “public spectacle.”
The party’s intervention comes as Liberia’s drug investigation continues to generate intense political debate over the identities of individuals allegedly connected to the narcotics network and whether law enforcement is pursuing the investigation across political lines.
At the center of the ANC’s concern is what it called the perception of “selective justice.”
The opposition party said it is troubled by the perception that government authorities are moving aggressively against individuals associated with the former governing Coalition for Democratic Change while questions involving people allegedly linked to the current Unity Party administration remain unresolved.
The ANC specifically referenced public comments attributed to Liberia National Police Inspector General Gregory Coleman, whom the party said indicated that current senior government officials were implicated in the matter.
The ANC did not present those allegations as established criminal findings. Instead, it argued that any person reasonably suspected of involvement should be subjected to the same investigative scrutiny regardless of political affiliation, government position or security role.
“If the rule of law is to have meaning,” the party argued, the investigation must follow the evidence wherever it leads.
The ANC therefore presented five demands to the government.
It called for an independent and credible investigation into the entire narcotics network, an evidence-based inquiry that follows leads regardless of political affiliation, equal application of the law, protection of constitutional rights and due process, and transparent answers to the Liberian people concerning the full scope of the operation and those who may have facilitated it.
The party also rejected the idea that criminal investigations should become a mechanism for settling political differences.
“Political opponents must be defeated at the ballot box through superior ideas and competent leadership, not through the weaponization or selective use of state institutions,” the ANC said.
The statement was approved by ANC National Chairman Cllr. Lafayette E.O. Gould, adding the party’s leadership behind the call for a broader investigation.
The ANC’s position places the government under pressure to demonstrate that its campaign against drug trafficking is being driven by evidence rather than political affiliation.
The party said the central test should be whether Liberia’s institutions can investigate a complex transnational narcotics case without shielding allies or selectively pursuing opponents.
Its message to the government was unequivocal: “Justice, not partisan politics, must direct the actions of the state.”
The ANC concluded that no person should be above the law and no person should be beneath its protection, declaring that “LIBERIA DESERVES BETTER!”
