Monrovia – The Secretary General of the Liberia People’s Democratic Party (LPDP) is strongly debunking reports which has been circulating in Monrovia over the past few days that the party’s political leader, the recently-recused Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Alex J. Tyler has been arrested in Accra, Ghana.
Report by Rodney D. Sieh, [email protected]
In a post on the Darius Dillon Intellectual Exchange Facebook page Friday, Mr. Dumoe wrote:
“This morning we woke up to a fake news story of House Speaker Tyler’s arrest in Accra. It appears this false story is the first step in a broader diabolical plot against the person of Hon. Tyler. We will not sit down and watch as we are eliminated one after the other in the name of keeping the peace. “
“If Hon. Tyler is physically harmed in any way, shape or form our response will be swift and very real. The law of nature gives us a right to self-defence and we stand prepared to exercise that right even if it means there will be rivers of blood.”
FrontPageAfrica has in the past few days received unconfirmed report of the Speaker’s arrest.
The report suggests that the Speaker was hooked at the Accra airport with US$100,000 in his possession on Wednesday September 21, 2016.
Like Liberia, under Ghana law regarding local (Ghanaian Cedi-GHS) and foreign currencies, residents and non-residents are only allowed up to US$10,000 – or its equivalent, in travellers’ cheques or any other monetary instrument.
“Passengers are required to declare the amounts to Customs and fill the BOG Foreign Exchange Declaration Form (FXDF) at the port of entry (or departure). Amounts exceeding US$10,000 – will be seized.”
It is unclear whether the reported amount in the embattled Speaker’s possession was declared upon arrival. But one source, Friday suggested that the amount in question was found in the person of Speaker Tyler.
However, with the information now being circulated in the public domain, it is likely that the Speaker whose account has been frozen by the Special Presidential Task Force probing the Global Witness report saga, may be exploring other means to have the money brought to Monrovia.
The money, according to sources was payment of a debt the Speaker had loaned out to a politician in Burkina Faso where he had gone to visit.
That politician, Roch Marc Kabore, is the former Prime Minister of Burkina Faso, who won last year’s presidential elections. Kabore, who served under ousted President Blaise Compaore, is said to be a close friend of Tyler.
Authorities at the airport in Accra reportedly made inquiries with both the Liberian embassy in Accra, Ghana and investigators in Monrovia.
That much has been confirmed by FrontPageAfrica, that the Speaker was interrogated and let go and proceeded to the Golden Tulip Hotel in Accra.
It is however unclear whether Judge Emery Paye of the Criminal Court C has granted an extension to the Speaker to remain out of the country.
Judge Paye, when contacted by FrontPageAfrica Friday, acknowledged that the embattled Speaker had overstayed his ‘medical treatment’ pass.
“It is true that we granted him ten days but it has expired and now his lawyers are asking for more time after filing a motion that the prosecution should present all the evidence against him. They are now seeking suspension of the case until he returns but the time given has expired.”
The Criminal Court ‘C’ recently agreed to allow the Speaker to leave Liberia on a nine-day pass to seek ‘medical treatment’ outside the country.
Speaker Tyler initially requested six weeks. The Speaker was due to return to Liberia on Tuesday, September 20.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Special Presidential Task Force are being mummed on the reports which is gathering by the day. Tyler recently bowed to pressure to step down as Speaker in the wake of the Global Witness-inspired bribery allegations.
Speaker Tyler was indicted and charged with the commission of the crimes, bribery, criminal facilitation, conspiracy, solicitation and economic sabotage in May following weeks of legal wrangling in the wake of the release of a report by the London-based watchdog group, Global Witness.
The GW report alleges the British company, Sable Mining in exchange for changes to specific provision of the Public Procurement and Concession law of Liberia doled out bribes to Tyler and several officials of government to favour the mining company.
Also charged were: Varney Sherman, E C B Jones, Christopher Onanuga, Alex Tyler and Sable Mining Inc.
The indictment against the four defendants’ states that between the period of 2010 and 2011, the defendants as a team through various communications and each being strategically placed in various positions with the support of the Stable Mining did criminally, wilfully requested and given more than US$900,000.00 to perform their respective positions.
Co-defendant Ernest C. B. Jones Deputy Minister of Lands, Mines and Energy at the time requested and allegedly received US$5,000.00 for providing the technical advice for the alteration of the law, while Speaker Tyler allegedly received the amount of US$75,000.00 for conducting the smooth passage of the Amended Procurement and Concession Commission Law containing the provision for the Minister of Lands, Mines and Energy to have the power to declare a concession area a non-bidding area (Article 75) of the amended PPCC Act so as to create an easy passage for the awarding of the concession agreement on the Wologisi mines.