The Monrovia City Court will on today, Friday, June 13, 2025 rule in the Capitol Building arson case involving former House Speaker Fonati Koffa and three other lawmakers following final legal arguments.
Defense lawyers have asked the court to dismiss the charges, arguing that the evidence being used was taken from phones not belonging to the defendants. They say this violates legal procedures under Chapter 11.10 of the Criminal Procedure Law.
During hearings at the Monrovia City Court on Wednesday, June 11, 2025, lawyers for former House Speaker J. Fonati Koffa, Abu B. Kamara, Jacob Debee, and Dixon Seboe criticized the use of social media content as evidence.
The prosecution’s key witness, Rafael A. Wilson, a chief police investigator, had testified that the evidence was gathered from open sources, including social media. However, he failed to identify which specific platform the content came from.
Under questioning, Wilson defined open source as public information. He said Koffa and Kamara acknowledged partial recordings but suggested the clips may have been altered or created using artificial intelligence.
Defense lawyer, Cllr. Jonathan Massaquoi, challenged the credibility of the evidence, arguing that without a specific source the material should not be admitted.
Wilson later claimed the audio came from WhatsApp conversations found on phones belonging to two other defendants.
During Thursday’s hearing, former Associate Justice Wilkins Wright, representing the defense, argued that the evidence is irrelevant and inadmissible. He asked the court to suppress the data and drop the case.
However, state prosecutor, Cllr. Richard Scott, opposed the motion, saying it was filed too late and the defense failed to challenge the evidence earlier. He argued that once evidence is admitted in court, it must be considered by the judge.
Magistrate L. Ben Barco said the court agrees that the evidence had passed the admissibility test and cannot be reversed. He noted that the Supreme Court previously upheld the same ruling in an earlier phase of the case.
Meanwhile, Magistrate Barco is expected to give a verdict on the matter today.
