Liberia: Mayor Koijee a “Person of Interest” in Cllr. Scott’s Attempted Assassination Case

Monrovia City Mayor Jefferson Koijee has been identified as a “person of interest” in the “failed assassination attempt” on the life of former Chief Justice Gloria Musu Scott by the Inspector General of Police, Col. Patrick Sudue.

Koijee, the Secretary General of the Congress for Democratic Change, a constituent party in the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change, has been accused of hiring Varlee Tarlleh, an ex-rebel general who works as a security guard for the Monrovia City Police Department, to assassinate the former Chief Justice.

Cllr. Jerome Verdier, the former Chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, did not identify any rationale for Koijee's alleged plot against Scott, which resulted in the terrible murders of the former Chief Justice's niece.

But, the police, who have been struggling to identify the mystery assassin(s), have chosen to listen to Verdier's claim and have now invited Koijee and Talleh for interrogation today. This will be the first time the all-powerful Koijee would be questioned by the police despite being accused of other rights violations in the past.

“When you are being accused, we will invite you and investigate you and if there’s a link, we will treat you as a suspect,” Sudue said at the Senate yesterday. “I want to inform you that Wednesday by 10:00 am, the Mayor and the accused Telleh will be at the police station to answer to allegations made against them.

When queried as to why it has taken the police almost a week to invite Koijee and Telleh, the police boss noted that he only got to hear the accusation against the two men through social media, as everyone else did . 

Suede’s revelation yesterday came a day after the Ministry of Justice issued a US$5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the assailant(s) responsible for the brutal murder of Cllr. Scott's niece, Charloe Musu, during a failed assassination attempt on Scott’s life.

This also comes as the police have already called in three private security guards assigned to the home of Scott along with four other females for questioning but, the  victim's family has debunked the police's belief that the attackers would have been domestic workers.

Scott's home first came under attack on the night of February 8, with the same incident happening the following night.   

But on February 22, the alleged attacker(s) succeeded in breaching the steel door and forcing the former Chief Justice to run for her life as her niece was laying in cold blood after being stabbed with a knife multiple times.

Meanwhile, the police boss at the Senate yesterday also  fumbled as he provided conflicting information as to whether the police had officially held talks with Scott regarding the attack on her home.

According to Sudue, they have tried having a meeting with the former Chief Justice on three occasions but she had postponed all on grounds that she needs to speak to her lawyer first. 

“We have contacted former Justice Minister Scott three times to explain what really happened, but she has not made herself available,” Suede said.

But while Sudue denied that the police are yet to meet with  Scott, Montserrado County Senator Abraham Darius Dillon displayed a release from his phone which the police said was based on preliminary talks held with the former Chief Justice.  

Sudue confirmed the release as authentic but clarified that the meeting was unofficial. This received low murmuring among Senators as he was accused of lying under oath, which is punishable by law.

Senator Prince Y. Johnson of Nimba County then reminded Sudue of the mysterious deaths of three employees of the Liberia Revenue Authority and the alleged ‘suicide’ death of an EPS officer who was said to have shot himself thrice in the head. 

“Leaders are entrusted with power for six years, and after that, your records stay with you,” Johnson said.