Monrovia — The Liberian People’s Party has called on President Joseph Nyuma Boakai to require Liberia National Police Inspector General Gregory O. W. Coleman to recuse himself from the ongoing investigations into the country’s cocaine crisis, arguing that an independent inquiry is necessary to preserve public confidence in the process.
By Gerald C. Koinyeneh
In a statement issued Wednesday, LPP National Chairman J. Yanqui Zaza said the call for Coleman’s recusal should not be interpreted as an allegation that the police chief is guilty of drug trafficking or any other crime.
Instead, the party said the demand is rooted in the principles of institutional integrity, impartiality, accountability and public confidence in the rule of law.
The party’s call comes amid heightened scrutiny of Liberia’s handling of major cocaine seizures, including the July interception of approximately 3,971 kilograms of cocaine in the VOA community in Paynesville, reportedly valued at about US$317 million.
The LPP said the scale of the seizure and subsequent actions against government officials and law-enforcement personnel have transformed the matter from a conventional narcotics case into a national-security concern.
Coleman’s Statement Raises Questions
At the center of the LPP’s demand is a reported statement by Inspector General Coleman that senior government officials were aware of, connected to, or involved in the cocaine operation.
The party said if the statement was accurately reported, it raises questions that require independent scrutiny.
“Who are the officials to whom he referred? What did they know? When did they know it? What actions did they take?” the LPP asked, adding that the public also deserves to know what evidence supports the Inspector General’s assertion and whether those allegedly implicated were questioned or investigated.
According to the party, serious allegations involving unnamed senior officials cannot simply remain in the public domain without clarification.
“If credible evidence exists, those implicated must be investigated according to law. If there is insufficient evidence, the public deserves a clear explanation and correction,” the statement said.
‘Coleman Is Now a Material Witness’
The LPP argued that Coleman’s reported public assertion potentially makes him a material witness to matters that require investigation.
The party wants an independent inquiry to determine what information Coleman received, when and from whom he received it, what evidence accompanied the information, to whom he reported it and what action he took afterward.
It also wants investigators to establish whether any investigative steps were delayed, restricted or discontinued.
The party contends that these questions cannot credibly be answered through an investigation controlled by the same official whose knowledge, decisions, supervision and conduct may themselves require examination.
“The issue is not whether Coleman is guilty,” the LPP said. “The issue is whether he can simultaneously be a potential witness, a subject of institutional scrutiny, and the commander of the investigators examining the matter.”
Recusal Not an Admission of Guilt
The LPP emphasized that recusal should not be viewed as punishment or an admission of wrongdoing.
Rather, it said, recusal would serve as a safeguard to protect the credibility of the investigation.
“If Inspector General Coleman acted properly, an independent inquiry should establish that fact,” the party said. “If there were mistakes, failures of judgment, concealment, interference, or other misconduct, an independent process should be able to establish that as well.”
The party also called for scrutiny of historical reports involving senior police personnel, including matters surrounding a 2022 cocaine seizure involving approximately 520 kilograms and the subsequent placement, return or promotion of officers in sensitive security and intelligence positions who later came under scrutiny.
The LPP cautioned, however, that such reports do not establish criminal guilt and should be examined only on the basis of verified evidence.
LPP Demands Independent Commission
The party called on President Boakai to establish an independent commission of inquiry with authority to summon witnesses, obtain records, preserve evidence and refer suspected criminal conduct for prosecution.
It wants Coleman to provide the commission, under oath, with the information underlying his reported statement about senior government officials, including the identities of those officials and the evidence supporting the claim.
The LPP also wants the inquiry to determine what actions were taken after Coleman allegedly received the information, including whether individuals were questioned, investigated, suspended, arrested, charged or cleared.
In addition, the party called for an investigation into any attempt to obstruct, delay, influence, compromise, conceal or selectively disclose information concerning the cocaine investigations.
It further wants a review of the recruitment, appointment, promotion, reinstatement, transfer and supervision of officers implicated or questioned in connection with the cases, as well as the handling of narcotics intelligence within the police and other security agencies.
The party proposed that the commission issue an interim report within a defined period and a final report identifying institutional failures and recommending prosecution, dismissal, disciplinary action or exoneration based strictly on the evidence.
‘Accountability, Not Public Relations’
The LPP said Liberia cannot effectively confront sophisticated international drug networks through press conferences, diplomatic engagements, selective dismissals or assurances that authorities will “follow the evidence.”
Instead, it said the evidence must be pursued wherever it leads—including to couriers, operational intermediaries, financiers, facilitators and protectors, and to political or senior government figures if credible evidence establishes their involvement.
The party argued that Coleman’s reported statement has created a public responsibility that cannot be resolved through silence.
“Either senior government officials were aware of or connected to the operation, in which case they must be identified and investigated, or there was insufficient basis for such a serious public statement, in which case the public deserves an explanation,” the LPP said.
The party urged the Boakai administration to apply the same accountability standard across government, including within the highest levels of the national police.
“Liberia’s institutions will not lose credibility because they submit to independent scrutiny,” the LPP said. “They will lose credibility if they resist it.”
The party concluded by calling for Coleman’s immediate recusal, an independent inquiry, disclosure consistent with due process and the prosecution of anyone against whom credible evidence establishes criminal wrongdoing, regardless of official rank, political affiliation or institutional position.
“Government Is a Place to Serve, Not to Steal. A Better Liberia Is Possible,” the statement concluded.
