Monrovia, Liberia – According to reports, the former president of Liberia, George Manneh Weah, has formally protested to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) the “unprovoked attack” that the Boakai-Koung administration carried out on the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) headquarters in Congo Town.
Police and CDC partisans engaged in violent altercations during a drug raid around the party’s national headquarters in Monrovia on Thursday, August 22, 2024. Agents from the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) reportedly raided suspected drug sellers on Thursday morning at around 4:30 AM in the area of Small-Town Community, which is home to the CDC headquarters. Eye witnesses stated that the drug dealers ran into the party headquarters, setting off a chase by the LDEA.
According to a Frontpage account; CDC Secretary General Jefferson Koijee took to Facebook as early as 6 AM, stating, “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.”
The situation sparked cidicians to gather in their numbers by 7:00 AM local time to defend themselves and the party headquarter. the gathering of CDC partisans’ spark the government attention. With in less time, the CDC party headquarters was heavily faced with the Liberia National Police officers ready to counter any action from cidicians.
The huge presence of the LNP in front of the CDC headquarters sparked singing and chanting from partisans with in no time, a serious confrontation between cidicians and officers of LNP erupted. The action saw stone throwing from both the civilians and members of the LNP including tear gas.
Former President Weah, on behalf of the CDC, wrote a letter to Omar Alieu Turay, President of the ECOWAS Commission, pleading with him to take aggressive diplomatic measures to guarantee that the current administration’s abuse of power does not destroy Liberia’s nascent democracy.
In order to secure the release of partisans and other Liberians who had been arrested and imprisoned at the Monrovia Central Prison, he called that ECOWAS step in.
“Our partisans and other people have been detained by the authorities on false accusations after the disastrous raid at our headquarters. We call for their unconditional and prompt release.”
