The Minister of Justice, Cllr. Frank Musah Dean, has ordered the re-arrest of three officers of the Liberia National Police (LNP) in connection to the death of Alieu Sheriff, who was allegedly beaten to death by the officers.
The Ministry of Justice ordered the Inspector General of LNP, Col. Patrick Sudue, to re-arrest officers Samuel N. Borbor, Harris Monger and Alexander Seaker, process and forward them to court for prosecution.
The ministry’s order comes in the wake of the release of the autopsy report of the remains of late Alieu Sheriff, which shows that the cause of death is “unnatural due to blunt force injury to the back of the head”.
A MOJ press release dated August 31, 2021, said “The Ministry of Justice has come to update the public on an incident that occurred on July 29, 2021 at the National Transit Authority (NTA) bus parking, along the Japan Freeway, involving Alieu Sheriff and LNP officers of Zone-4 police station.
“On July 29, 2021, information received from Zone-4 police depot revealed that at 15:12 patrol officers from Zone-4 were called to respond at the NTA parking yard, along the Japan Freeway, to bring a situation under control.
“Accordingly, the officers responded to the NTA yard and saw the Alieu Sheriff lying on the ground unconscious. Predicated on the condition of the victim, he was rushed to the John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival by medical doctors.
“After receiving the information, the Ministry of Justice ordered the Liberia National Police to arrest and conduct preliminary investigation of the alleged suspects. They were kept in detention for the statutory period by the LNP. However, consistent with Article 21(f) of the Constitution, the suspects were released in keeping with the Constitution’s human rights standard, with the mandate to have them appear when requested.
“Now that the autopsy report has established the cause of death is unnatural due to blunt force injury to the back of the head, we order the Inspector General of Police to re-arrest the suspects: Samuel N. Borbor, Harris Monger and Alexander Seaker, process and forward them to court for prosecution.
“The Ministry of Justice wants to assure the general public that all will be done to ensure justice is dispensed without prejudice,” the release from the ministry stated.