Moniba Raises Red Flag Over Cocaine Probe | News

Political Leader of the Liberian National Union (LINU), Dr. Clarence K. Moniba, is challenging President Joseph Nyuma Boakai to demonstrate that his administration’s war against drug trafficking is being pursued impartially, warning that Liberia’s ongoing cocaine investigation must not become a campaign against “convenient names” while more powerful figures escape scrutiny.

Moniba’s challenge comes as the government’s cocaine investigation continues to fuel intense public debate over who is ultimately responsible for the alleged drug network, who may have protected or facilitated its operations, and whether investigators are pursuing every possible connection regardless of political affiliation, wealth or influence.

In a statement issued following President Boakai’s recent national address on the controversy, Moniba welcomed the President’s decision to speak to the Liberian people but said the address represented only the first of two measures he had called for.

He is now pressing the President to take the second step by establishing an independent panel to review the cocaine investigation and determine whether the government’s response is comprehensive, transparent and free from political considerations.

“I am now asking him to take the second step: establish the independent panel,” Moniba said.

At the heart of Moniba’s argument is whether the government’s anti-drug campaign is genuinely impartial and whether investigators are reaching those who allegedly operated, financed, protected or benefited from the cocaine trade, rather than stopping at individuals who may be easier or more politically convenient to prosecute.

“Are we really getting to the people behind this?” Moniba asked.

He said the reported scale and sophistication of the alleged cocaine operation raise broader questions about whether individuals in positions of authority may have protected, facilitated or benefited from the activities.

“Where are the people of consequence?” he asked, questioning who allegedly protected the operations, who facilitated them, who knew about them and who benefited from them.

Moniba’s comments come amid continuing scrutiny of Liberia’s major cocaine investigations, which have involved foreign nationals, Liberian citizens and individuals connected to state security institutions.

Among the cases he cited is that of former Deputy Commissioner for Crime Services and former head of the Liberia National Police’s Unit 106, Johnny Bolar Dean.

According to Inspector General of Police Gregory Coleman, Dean allegedly admitted receiving US$10,000 in connection with suspects under investigation in the cocaine case.

Coleman said Dean was removed from his position because his conduct allegedly compromised him and that he was subsequently subjected to further investigation.

The allegation against Dean has not been established as a criminal conviction, and Moniba stressed that his guilt or innocence must be determined through due process and the courts.

However, he argued that allegations involving a senior police official raise questions that extend beyond one individual.

“If a senior police official involved in such a consequential investigation allegedly received money connected to suspects, the Liberian people deserve to know whether this was an isolated incident or evidence of something much deeper,” Moniba said.

It is this concern, Moniba said, that makes an independent panel necessary.

He wants the proposed panel to examine the cocaine investigation without being directed toward a predetermined conclusion and to follow the evidence wherever it leads.

Moniba specifically called for the same standard of accountability to apply to individuals associated with both the previous and current administrations.

“If the evidence points to former officials, they must answer for it,” he said. “If it points to current officials, they must answer for it. If it points elsewhere, the same standard must apply.”

That, he argued, is the central test facing the government: whether it can convince the Liberian people that the cocaine investigation is fundamentally about accountability and the truth rather than political considerations.

Liberia’s fight against narcotics has become increasingly politically sensitive as the investigation has drawn public attention to individuals with links to the country’s political and security establishment.

Moniba warned against allowing the investigation to degenerate into a search for individuals whose names are politically convenient while failing to uncover the broader network allegedly responsible for the movement, protection and financing of illegal drugs.

“The fight against drugs cannot become a search for convenient names. It must become a search for the truth,” he said.

Moniba’s demand comes amid the government’s prosecution of former Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor and others in connection with the wider narcotics investigation, a development that has generated intense public and political debate.

Howard-Taylor has denied involvement in drug trafficking, while supporters and critics alike have called for the allegations against her and others to be tested through the judicial process.

Moniba’s proposed independent panel would therefore widen the scope of scrutiny beyond individual prosecutions and disciplinary actions to examine the broader institutional and political dimensions of the investigation.

He stressed that the panel should not be established to target any individual, but should instead be empowered to examine the facts and follow the evidence wherever it leads.

For Moniba, impartiality means that political affiliation, government position, wealth or influence should not determine who is investigated or held accountable.

He argued that individuals associated with the former administration, the current administration and other politically influential circles should face the same standard if evidence connects them to wrongdoing.

“This moment in Liberia’s history is too important for speculation, political narratives, or institutional silence to substitute for the truth,” Moniba said.

He added that Liberians deserve answers about who allegedly enabled the cocaine operation, who protected it, who benefited from it and whether the country’s institutions are capable of holding powerful individuals accountable.

Moniba acknowledged that President Boakai has already taken what he described as the first step by addressing the nation.

He is now challenging the President to take the second by establishing an independent panel capable of demonstrating to the Liberian public that the government’s war against drugs is being pursued without fear, favor or political calculation.

“Let the evidence lead us to the truth,” Moniba said.