—As Gov’t Rubbishes Reports of Plan Raid on Former Pres. Weah Home
By Taisiah Merfee
IPNEWS: Congress For Democratic Change (CDC) Secretary General, Jefferson Koijee, remains defiant hours following Thursday’s sporadic altercation between partisans of the CDC and police officer of the ERU after an early morning raid by LDEA on a ghetto nearest the vicinity of the CDC Headquarters.
Koijee told cheering partisans that an Emergency Meeting of the Executive Committee and all auxiliaries of the CDC are summoned this Friday August 23,2023 at the party headquarters in Congo Town, in response to the Party’s next plan of action.
“We will assemble partisans and the citizens at our party’s headquarter and we will be moving on the Streets for the government to kill us all.”
“The current administration headed by President Joseph Nyuma Boakai is not able to protect the citizens of Liberia but to use armed police officers against armless and peaceful citizens.” CDC SG intoned.
The CDC Secretary General reaffirmed that CDCians are peaceful citizens and the that government needs to understand this , take time in their approach to issues and stop misjudging CDCians.
He said as heads of the massive people’s party (CDC) they will stand in the gap to put the government feet to the fire each day because the Boakai’s government came to power base on lies and criminality.
The youthful CDC Secretary General, Jefferson Tamba Koijee said the maintenance of peace surely rest in the hand of the government and threaten that any attempts further for LNP and the government to prevent Partisans from going at their party headquarters will be resisted by the people.
Earlier former President George Weah expressed deep shock and concern over what he described as the police’s decision to open fire on unarmed civilians near the headquarters of the CDC and its surrounding area.
In a strong statement issued following the police raid on the CDC’s national headquarters located on Tubman Boulevard in Congo Town, Weah condemned the police’s actions, characterizing them as a significant threat to peace and a serious question over the United Party (UP)-led administration’s ability to govern responsibly.
“The UP administration boasts of their governing abilities, yet they are demonstrating a lack of tolerance. Why would they open fire on innocent civilians? The attacks began as early as 2 AM,” Weah stated. “This is not an example of good governance. We are a nation that upholds the rule of law. This must end immediately. We demand explanations.”
Weah echoed these sentiments, stating, “The UP administration claims they know how to govern, but they are not exhibiting tolerance. Why open fire on innocent civilians? As early as 2 AM, they started attacking. This is not good governance. We are a nation of rule and law. This needs to stop. We demand answers.”
The situation has grown increasingly tense, with violent confrontations breaking out between riot police and CDC supporters from the early hours of the morning. Disturbing footage from the scene shows riot police forcefully detaining party supporters, with one particularly harrowing video capturing the police dragging a supporter out of the party’s headquarters amidst clouds of tear gas.
Reports suggest that at approximately 4:30 AM on Thursday morning, officers from the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) conducted a raid targeting alleged drug dealers in the Small-Town Community, where the CDC headquarters is located. The alleged dealers reportedly fled into the CDC headquarters, prompting the officers to pursue them inside.
Minutes after, CDC Secretary General Jefferson Koijee took to social media at around 6 AM, revealing that “Heavily armed state security forces have invaded our party’s headquarters for the second time this morning, engaging in sporadic shootings that have created widespread panic and chaos among citizens and partisans in and around the headquarters.”
Koijee further called for immediate international attention, urging ECOWAS, the African Union, the global community, and Liberians, particularly CDC supporters, to condemn what he labeled as an unjustifiable action by the Boakai administration aimed at disturbing Liberia’s hard-won peace.
Koijee also accused the administration of compromising national peace, arguing that “The peace of this country is far bigger than President Boakai and what he terms as a gang of political desperadoes.” He described how late in the night, a police vehicle drove into the CDC compound, where officers began firing shots and conducting raids. The fate of some CDC supporters remains unknown, with Koijee insisting that such provocations are unacceptable and require immediate redress.
In a related development, Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah has strongly refuted reports of the government of Liberia plans to raid or search the homes of former President George Weah.
Addressing the Ministry of Information regular press briefing Thursday in Monrovia, Piah stated that such publication by Frontpage Africa is totally misleading, untrue and grossly unfair to the Public.
Piah maintained that the government has absolutely no plans to raid the homes of the former President as reported in its August 22,2024 edition.
In the publication, the Newspaper claimed that the government is harboring plans to raid the home of former President George Weah. The government spokesman said the report was nothing but mere lies.
