MONROVIA, LIBERIA – The Ministry of Justice has strongly rejected allegations circulating on social media that the official vehicle assigned to Justice Minister and Attorney General Cllr. N. Oswald Tweh was provided as a gift from drug cartels through the Inspector General of the Liberia National Police.
The Ministry described the allegation, attributed to social media commentator Martin K. N. Kollie, as false and unsupported by the facts, insisting that the vehicle is government property acquired with public funds and assigned for the Minister’s official duties.
In a statement issued on Sunday, August 23, 2026, the Ministry said the vehicle in question, a white Toyota Land Cruiser Prado bearing Government plate 0-13, was assigned to Tweh by the Liberia National Police following a formal request from the Ministry.
According to the Ministry, it formally wrote the Inspector General of Police on November 10, 2025, requesting a suitable vehicle for the Justice Minister’s official use.
The request, it said, came after the Ministry inherited a limited and aging vehicle fleet, with some senior officials reportedly using personal vehicles while others depended on government vehicles that frequently broke down.
The Ministry said there was also no budgetary allocation at the time for the purchase of a new vehicle for the Justice Minister.
Following the request, the LNP assigned a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado identified as GSA-LNP-03-14 to the Minister’s office.
The Ministry said the vehicle was part of a larger fleet procured by the Government of Liberia from Dutch Health BV for the Liberia National Police.
The fleet, according to the Ministry, was valued at US$1.5 million and included pickup trucks, jeeps, motorcycles and ambulances.
Ten Toyota Land Cruiser Prado vehicles were reportedly included among the jeeps purchased under the arrangement.
The Justice Ministry said the vehicle assigned to Tweh was therefore not acquired privately for the Minister and was not presented to him as a personal gift.
“It was not purchased for or presented to the Minister by a drug cartel, alleged cartel member, private individual, or criminal suspect,” the Ministry said.
It emphasized that the vehicle remains government property and is being used exclusively for the Minister’s official responsibilities.
The Ministry also dismissed the suggestion that the vehicle represented a personal gift from Inspector General of Police, saying such a claim contradicts the documented sequence of events surrounding its assignment.
According to the Ministry, the idea that the Inspector General could have obtained money from a drug cartel, purchased the vehicle, had it officially marked through the General Services Agency and subsequently handed it over to the Justice Minister is inconsistent with the circumstances surrounding the vehicle’s acquisition.
The Ministry further noted that the assignment of LNP-marked government vehicles to officials outside the police is not unprecedented.
It said other officials within the Justice Ministry have previously used LNP-marked government vehicles, including during previous administrations.
The statement comes amid heightened public scrutiny of government officials and law enforcement institutions as Liberia continues its investigation into major drug trafficking cases.
The Ministry urged members of the public to exercise caution when consuming allegations circulating on social media, particularly claims based on unnamed sources.
It warned that information attributed to anonymous sources can be incomplete, inaccurate or deliberately misleading and should be independently verified before being presented as established fact.
The Ministry said it would not allow what it described as unsubstantiated allegations to divert attention from its responsibilities.
It reaffirmed that its focus remains on combating illicit drugs and dismantling criminal networks operating in Liberia.
