MONROVIA, LIBERIA – President Joseph Nyuma Boakai has ordered the Ministry of Justice to conduct an immediate and comprehensive investigation into allegations surrounding the recusal of Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) Officer-in-Charge, Deputy Commissioner of Police Fitzgerald T. M. Biago, amid growing calls for greater independence and public credibility in the process.
The President’s directive followed communication from Justice Minister and Attorney General Cllr. N. Oswald Tweh concerning Biago’s temporary recusal from his functions as head of the LDEA.
President Boakai has given the Justice Minister 48 hours to submit a detailed report on the allegations and all circumstances surrounding the matter.
The directive comes as Liberia’s anti-drug campaign faces renewed questions following public allegations and social media reports linking a Toyota pickup vehicle allegedly associated with a narcotics suspect or trafficker to the LDEA chief’s office.
Biago has denied the allegation and requested temporary recusal, saying the move was necessary to preserve the integrity of the investigation, protect the LDEA and maintain public confidence in the national fight against illicit drugs.
In his communication to the Justice Minister, Biago stressed that his recusal was not an admission of wrongdoing and pledged to cooperate fully with any fair and impartial investigation.
President Boakai, meanwhile, reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to combating illegal drugs, organized crime and corruption, insisting that no individual or institution is above the law.
The President directed that the investigation be thorough, objective and based solely on the facts.
He is expected to determine the appropriate course of action after reviewing the Justice Ministry’s findings.
But while the presidential directive has been welcomed as a swift response to the allegations, the credibility of the investigative process itself is emerging as a major concern.
Anderson Miamen, Executive Director of the Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL), welcomed the President’s action but warned that public confidence in Liberia’s security sector is currently weak.
“Trust is very limited in the security sector right now,” Miamen said, while describing Justice Minister Tweh as a respectable statesman capable of handling the assignment.
However, Miamen argued that relying solely on the Ministry of Justice could leave questions about the investigation’s independence and inclusiveness.
He called for the Ministry to work alongside representatives of the Liberia National Bar Association, independent civil society organizations, the media, the Female Lawyers Association of Liberia and the Inter-Religious Council.
According to Miamen, bringing these institutions into the process would not suggest that the Justice Ministry is incapable of conducting the investigation.
Rather, he said, their involvement could strengthen inclusiveness, independence and credibility.
Miamen further urged Minister Tweh to voluntarily invite representatives of the institutions to participate in the investigation, despite the President’s directive not specifically providing for such a mechanism.
The call comes against the backdrop of a turbulent period for Liberia’s security sector, with recent cocaine seizures, allegations involving security personnel and growing public demands for transparency in the government’s response to drug trafficking.
The latest controversy therefore places considerable pressure on both the Ministry of Justice and the Executive Mansion to demonstrate that the investigation will not be influenced by institutional relationships or political considerations.
For President Boakai, the 48-hour deadline could provide an early test of his administration’s oft-repeated commitment to accountability.
For the Justice Ministry, the challenge extends beyond producing a report within the stipulated timeframe. It must also convince a skeptical public that the process was sufficiently independent to establish the truth.
And for the LDEA, the allegations strike at the credibility of the very institution entrusted with disrupting Liberia’s increasingly sophisticated narcotics networks.
The allegations against Biago remain unproven, and he has categorically denied receiving any benefit from a drug trafficker or anyone acting on behalf of a drug-trafficking organization.
But with public confidence already strained, the outcome of the investigation may ultimately be judged not only by what the report concludes, but by how credible the process is perceived to have been.
