MONROVIA — Former Maritime Commissioner and now Chief of Office Staff and Political Advisor to former President George Manneh Weah, Eugene L. Nagbe has taken the government of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai to task, accusing the government of weaponizing the entire judicial system.
By Emmanuel Weedee-Conway
Mr. Nagbe also alleged that the administration is more interested in humiliating and intimidating members of the former government and opposition than pursuing justice through credible prosecution.
The opposition politician levied these allegations during a radio interview OK FM on Wednesday, July 22.
He went on to sharply criticize the pre-trial detention of political figures such as former Chief of Protocol, Nora Finda Bondo, further alleging that state institutions are subjecting the former ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) to undue pressure.
Nagbe Alleges Use of The Judicial Branch To Foster Political Agendas
At the core of Mr. Nagbe’s criticism is the detention of a former government official whose lawyers, he said, intend to challenge the decision to keep her behind bars over disagreements surrounding a bail bond.
Mr. Nagbe indicated that the state should focus on bringing evidence before the court rather than pushing for prolonged pre-trial detention.
“It’s a political thing and we have to stop using the judicial branch to foster political agendas,” Mr. Nagbe asserted, insisting that his criticism was not directed at the legality of the court proceedings but at what he described as the government’s methods.
He questioned why prosecutors would be more focused on securing pre-trial detention if they were confident in the strength of their cases.
“If the state has a strong case against Finda, they should be anxious for the trial, not to stop and have her in jail before the trial,” he argued.
The former Maritime Commissioner acknowledged that the state has the right to challenge a bail bond it considers insufficient, but contends that the bond in question was adequate and that the decision to detain the accused would therefore be challenged before a higher court.
“THE AIM IS NOT TO WIN CASES”
Mr. Nagbe, also a former Minister of Information during the CDC-led government also stated that the government’s prosecution of former officials is driven by an objective beyond securing convictions.
According to him, the repeated efforts to detain accused persons before trial are part of a campaign to damage their reputations and weaken the opposition politically.
“The aim is not to win cases. That’s why they haven’t won any case. But the aim is to try to disgrace people, to try to subjugate CDC officials,” he averred.
Mr. Nagbe defended former officials who have returned to Liberia to face allegations against them, arguing that the accused have demonstrated that they are willing to submit themselves to the judicial process.
The former Liberian leader’s Special Aide insisted that those facing prosecution are not running away from the allegations, but are prepared to confront the accusations in court.
“Nobody running away from the cases that we have to face because we know they are frivolous, no basis, no evidence, and just a bunch of trash they’re putting out to the court,” he said.
Legal Authority Of Travel Restrictions Questioned
Speaking further, Mr. Nagbe also challenged the authority of government’s justice system to publicly announce travel restrictions against former officials, especially in the case of former Commerce Minister Mawine G. Diggs, asserting that such measures should be based on appropriate judicial action.
Highlighting the case of former Minister Minister Diggs, who had previously returned to Liberia voluntarily to face allegations, Mr. Nagbe called on the government should concentrate on prosecuting cases rather than creating what he described as unnecessary public drama around accused persons.
CDC Headquarters Becomes New Flashpoint
Mr. Nagbe also made a startling revelation that the government is applying excessive pressure to the CDC to ensure that ongoing construction works of the party’s new headquarters project does not proceed as planned.
He disclosed that officials from the Ministry of Public Works recently visited the under construction headquarters of the CDC and informed them that the building was too tall and ordered the party to stop all ongoing works.
Mr. Nagbe’s frustration is that prior to the construction, the party was subjected to provide documentation for the project and with vigorous inspections done by the Ministry of Public Works, something he claimed even caused the construction to delay by three months.
“I don’t think any building in the whole Liberia received questions like that. The party submitted nearly 300 pages of documents to the Ministry of Public Works in response to requirements for the construction project. So with all of this high level of scrutiny before construction to come and now tell us that the building is tall is frustrating.”
“We All Know These Things Are Intimidation”
The former Maritime Commissioner also claimed that the CDC is facing unusually high tax demands while constructing its headquarters, arguing that the treatment amounts to political pressure against the opposition.
“We’re the only party now that paying more taxes. As we are building our headquarters, we all know these things are intimidation,” Mr. Nagbe alleged.
He challenged journalists to investigate and compare the tax obligations imposed on the CDC headquarters with those of other political parties, stressing that the issue should be treated as a matter of national concern rather than a personal dispute.
“Is government using heavy-handedness on the opposition?” he questioned.
Government’s Anti-Corruption Campaign Under Scrutiny
At the same time, Mr. Nagbe has question the Boakai administration’s anti-corruption campaign amid the prosecution of former government officials accused of financial misconduct.
He accused government agencies of placing excessive emphasis on public statements and publicity surrounding cases rather than concentrating on the evidence and the substantive allegations before the courts.
Political Tensions Deepen
Mr. Nagbe’s allegations add another layer to an increasingly contentious political environment in Liberia, where the prosecution of former officials has become a major source of confrontation between the government and the opposition.
While the former official’s claims remain allegations that were not independently established in the interview, they still raise serious questions about public confidence in the neutrality of state institutions and the need for transparency in high-profile corruption cases.
For the government, the challenge is to demonstrate that its anti-corruption campaign is driven by evidence and due process rather than political retaliation. For the opposition, the burden remains to substantiate claims of selective prosecution and institutional intimidation.
