MONROVIA: As early as about 5am Thursday morning, what was branded as a raid against scores of narcotic drugs dealers and users by officers of the Liberia Drugs Enforcement Agency (LDEA), triggered violent protests and clashes in the Small-Town Community in Congo Town, Monrovia, when several illicit drugs dealers and users ran helter-skelter into the nearby Headquarters of the former ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC).
Some community residents who prefer not to be identified in this story for security and safety reasons unveiled that the escape of the suspected illicit addicts into the CDC Headquarters prompted the LDEA officers to chase the escapees into the Headquarters of the former ruling party, of which ex- President George Manneh Weah currently serves as Political Leader.
Eyewitnesses further told this paper that the unexpected and violent entry of the LDEA officers in the CDC compound in pursuit of the purported illicit drugs suspects for arrest and prosecution effectively generated the annoyance of several other individuals who were in the CDC headquarters as they mounted vehement protests and outright resistance against what they described as the unwarranted invasion of the CDC premises.
The angry CDC stalwarts, loyalists and other foot-soldiers decried what they referred to as the abrupt invasion and desecration of the former ruling party’s headquarters by the LDEA and others state security forces including heavily armed officers of the Liberia National Police (LNP) under the pretext of chasing and looking for escaping drugs addicts.
During the melee, residents said, stones, rocks and other dangerous missiles were thrown at innocent people including pedestrians, motor vehicles, housing units, among others, leaving scores of personal properties either misplaced, damaged or stolen.
In an attempt to promptly intervene, witnesses said, the Speaker of the 55th National Legislature, Cllr. Jonathan Fonati Koffa, who is also executive of the CDC, and was said to be on his way to work, stopped at the CDC headquarters but his efforts to calm the development could not materialize as the situation became more chaotic and dangerous for his personal safety and protection.
The Speaker was then cautioned by his security aides to leave the chaotic scene, according to eyewitnesses.
Other media reports quoted CDC’s political leader, and former President of Liberia, George Manneh Weah, as expressing scorn and disgust over the forceful entry of heavily armed police and other state security personnel into the CDC headquarters, describing the move by the Government of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, as unwarranted, anti-peace and non-demonstration of good governance.
A local daily, FPA, quoted ex-President Weah as expressing shock and dismay over what he termed as the police’s decision to open fire on innocent civilians near his party’s headquarters on Tubman Boulevard in Congo Town and in the surrounding areas.
Weah condemned the actions of the police, describing it as a threat to peace and a question mark over the UP-led administration’s ability to govern effectively.
“The UP administration claims they know how to govern, but they are not exhibiting tolerance. Why open fire on innocent civilians? As early as 2AM, they started attacking,” he was quoted as saying.
“This is not good governance. We are a nation of law and order. This needs to stop. We demand answers,” Weah emphasized.
It is not clear how many of the suspected illicit drugs suspects and local drugs tycoons have so far be arrested as a result of the yesterday’s LDEA raid. It is also unclear whether or not some CDCians were arrested.
For his part, CDC Secretary General Jefferson Koijee, via his personal Facebook page reported that: “Heavily armed state security forces have invaded our party’s headquarters for the second time this morning, engaging in sporadic shootings that caused panic and chaos among citizens and partisans in and around the party’s headquarters.”
“We’re calling the immediate attention of ECOWAS, AU, the International Community, the Liberian people, and CDCians in particular to this unscrupulous action by the Boakai administration, which is aimed at disrupting our hard-earned peace,” Koijee, a former Mayor of Monrovia wrote.
Koijee added: “The peace of this country is far bigger than President Boakai and his gang of political desperadoes. Late last night, a police pickup drove into the CDC compound, and officers began shooting and raiding the environment. The whereabouts of some partisans are unknown. Such provocation is unfortunate and demands immediate attention.”
Also, members of the Women In Peacebuilding Network (WIPNET) arrived at the scene to help calm the tense situation, but the violence forced the women to leave the scene for safety.
Meanwhile, the Liberia Government said early Thursday, the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) in an attempt to execute a search and seizure warrant at an identified property in the Small Town Community, around the Bernard Beach vicinity received resistance from some community members that led to the LDEA personnel pulling out of the community.
According a statement issued by the government through the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism (MICAT), “As a result of the resistance, several LDEA personnel sustained injuries and are currently being treated at the John F. Kennedy Medical Center.”
The government adds that “after the LDEA pulled out, individuals believed to be members of the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) blocked the free flow of traffic, setting roadblocks, lighting tires and petting stones at vehicles and pedestrians on the Tubman Boulevard, near the party headquarters. Several vehicles were damaged and innocent citizens as well as law enforcement officers were injured by the rocks thrown from the direction of the party headquarters. See Government Statement on page 5.