Authorities of the Liberia National Police (LNP) have condemned the series of fake alarms being raised by unscrupulous individuals about ritualistic and other unwanted killings in the country, describing the claims as misinformation and a calculated ploy to paint the government ugly, undermine the peace and security the country enjoy, bring the LNP to public disrepute and scare away investors and those wishing to spend their festive vacation back home.
There has been a wave of allegations of people disappearing, missing from communities and being murdered in cold blood. Photos of allegedly murdered victims have been widely circulated, especially on social media, with the posters claiming that they are fresh happenings in Liberia.
Speaking on the Bumper Show yesterday, September 29, 2021, the 103 of Police said as far as LNP investigations are concerned, they have not established any ritualistic killing in recent time, apart from the case in Maryland sometime ago, which was dealt with immediately.
He said there are lots of reports of people being kidnapped and going missing, but it will interest the public to know that those flying with the information are mostly “paid agents” whose intent is to place the police in a situation that appears like the police is not in charge of security issues, as well as a scare tactic to drive away individuals who wish to come to the country.
“This will have a far-reaching negative effect on our economy…politicians will speak to that. But security-wise, the guy portraying himself on social media as being kidnapped and was unconscious during the operation of his kidnappers, claimed to have knowledge about every single thing that happened. This guy, at the time he claimed to have been kidnapped and was unconscious, had his phone with him—taking photos and showing photos of a slaughter hall. While unconscious again, a little boy was by his side, saying, ‘Oh uncle, they carrying me to kill me ooh.’ And while still unconscious, one man was left in charge of you while the others went a distance away to enjoy themselves…How do you know all that when you’re unconscious?” the Police 103 wondered.
The 103 of Police disclosed that since the man claimed to have escaped from his kidnappers, he has refused to go to the police, even though the police have exerted all effort to get in contact with him. According him, the man is an alleged victim of circumstances, and so the police cannot force him to appear against his will. He however stated that, based on the call log legally retrieved by the police, the man lied about everywhere he said he was.
As it regards the lady who claimed that kidnappers used a white handkerchief on her nose to take her to an unknown destination, the 103 of Police said the lady appeared at the police headquarters, but considering her health condition after alleging that chemical substances had been used on her the police allowed family members to escort her to a medical center to run her test, but since then she is yet to return. He said when they contacted the family members that escorted her they said they did not know about the woman’s whereabouts.
He also talked about three names that were listed missing on social media, which attracted the attention of the Minister of Justice who contacted the police to investigate. He explained that the photo of the missing child is posted at Zone-3, Brewerville, and after three days the child was found. Another person was reported missing in 1993 from Sierra Leone by his family members who thought he had cross over to Liberia with some of their relatives who resided in Jartono Town, but he too reported himself to the police that he was not missing. The last person on the list, he said, is a lady, Ma Esther, who was also listed missing in Maryland, but also reported herself to the police, stating that she did not go missing but only went to visit a friend.
Also giving update, the Inspector General (IG) of Police, Col. Patrick Sudue, disclosed that the Secretary General of the People’s Liberation Party (PLP), David Beyan, who accused unknown individuals wearing mask of shooting him in the leg outside his compound, was found out to be lying. Col. Sudue said, “I think if this man had killed himself the whole country would have said it is the government that killed this young man.”
According to the Police IG, the complaint made at the police station was that people went after him on a motorcycle and shot him in front of his fence, which was a lie. “So, immediately we got the information we went to the JFK, but we were told that the doctors were working on him. So we stayed all day. After the doctors completed their work, they asked him to take a rest, so we left him and went. Monday we went to his residence but he told us that he was dizzy, and so we should go back on Wednesday, September 29, 2021. So we went back there on Wednesday, but he told us to go back, again, on Tuesday. But by that time we had already subpoena his medical report, so we went to court and immediately obtained a Writ of Search and Seizure.
“We came back to the yard and there were six vehicles parked. We asked that they identify the particular vehicle he was driving. We entered the parked car and saw the shell of the bullet and the penetration through the seat. He wanted to argue, but broke down when I informed him that we had with us his true confession at the hospital—that he mistakenly shot himself in the leg. That was when he told us that he would cooperate with us.” Col. Sudue explained.
The Police IG lamented that Beyan criminally, maliciously and willfully took the weapon from his residence in Soul Clinic and concealed it as far as 20th Street. Sudue disclosed that the police currently have the weapon and the vehicle, and Beyan is currently at the police headquarters undergoing investigation.