Liberia: Boakai Says Weah Gov’t Failed Cllr. Gloria Scott

President Joseph N. Boakai

 

— “The government neglected to provide Justice Scott and her family with security after the previous two violent attacks. It also took several hours for police to arrive on the scene, only after the assailants had safely fled," Boakai said in a statement about Scott's home attack. 

President George Weah's administration has been accused of failing to ensure the safety of a former chief justice, whose home was attacked by unknown individuals, killing her niece and injuring two others.

The accusation from former Vice President Joseph Boakai comes as the Weah administration come under fire for failing to provide former Chief Justice Cllr. Gloria Musu Scott police protection after having survived two previous attempts on her life.

“The government neglected to provide Justice Scott and her family security after the previous two violent attacks. It also took several hours before the police arrived on the scene, only after the assailants had safely left,” Boakai noted  in a statement on the attack on Scott's home. 

“The failure of the Weah-led administration to perform its basic duty of providing safety and security to citizens and residents alike is a major derelict of his constitutional obligation as President. We are deeply saddened by the pervasive crisis of insecurity and lawlessness that has engulfed our country with people living in constant fear.”

The Scott family has also accused the Weah government of helping to prevent the third and fatal attack on the legal luminary's home after she had reported two consecutive (two nights in a row) attacks initially, on February 8th and 9th. 

The government, they said, did not provide police protection and that inaction led to the third and fatal attack.

ALSO READ: US$5k Reward for Tip on Former Chief Justice's Attackers

“We are however inclined to believe that, had the premises of any current government official or a former official with some level of interest been attacked, the government would have taken action to avert what happened to us,” the family said in a statement earlier. “But it is for the public to judge this and several other similar cases of murder that have happened in our country in the last few years.”

But Weah, in a late response, has expressed deep concern over the armed attack on the home of Scott, Deputy Presidential Press Secretary Smith Toby has said. Toby noted that President Weah has  asked the police to speedily investigate the matter and bring the perpetrator to justice.

“The Liberian leader has termed the situation as unfortunate, stressing that it is not to the glory of anyone in higher authority,” Toby said yesterday.  There are ongoing security conversations on how past officials of government, who diligently served the country, can be provided security aimed at preventing recurrence of what has happened to Cllr. Scott.”

However, Boakai  noted that as Liberians become terrified by the attacks on Scott, they should also remember the numerous acts of violence and lawlessness that occur each day around the country.

“This is sadly a daily occurrence,”  Boakai added as he claims that Liberia under Weah is not a responsive country where people can count on the government for their safety.

The former Vice President, who is expected to contest for the presidency come October, is further accusing Weah of neglecting the security needs of Liberians as the security sector suffers from limited budgetary allocation.

“This act of violence on a member of our judiciary and many others before now who do not get the justice they deserve is an attack on the very foundation of the rule of law and democratic society we are trying to build following years of violent conflict,” Boakai said.

“Our Constitution mandates and confers responsibility on our government to protect all of us without discrimination. Our government has failed! In the years of the Weah administration, we have witnessed an incessant increase in conflict and political violence and increased criminal and interpersonal violence. Criminal activities are rife and remain a major threat to the peace of residents in Monrovia and many other communities in the country.”

Meanwhile, Boakai has  demanded a speedy investigation into the attacks on Scott's home, saying the outcome of the investigation should be made public.

“The perpetrators of this heinous act must be brought to justice and held accountable for their actions. We must not allow violence and intimidation to undermine our hard-won peace and erode the fundamental principles of freedom and democracy we aspire for in our society.”

“I condemn in the strongest possible terms this despicable, cowardly attack and an act of barbarity carried out by armed men on the Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and many other attacks on Liberians and residents, who remain anonymous and suffer in silence, and whose stories we do not often hear and whose investigations remain inconclusive.”

Related Content: Son, Brother of Suspects in Attack on Cllr. Scott’s Home Calls for Fair Investigation