Monrovia — President Joseph N. Boakai, Sr., has suspended the Director General, Mr. Abraham S. Kromah, Deputy Director General for Administration, Mr. Gbawou Kowou, and the Deputy Director General for Operations, Mr. Hassan Fadiga of the Liberian Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA).
In a statement signed by Anthony V. Kesselly, deputy minister of state for public affairs, their suspension takes immediate effect and without pay, pending investigation.
"The President has in the meantime ordered an investigation of the events occurring at the Agency on June 3, 2024. He-said, "the acts of disorder and chaos that took place at the headquarters of the LDEA were unacceptable." Such acts, the President continued, threaten public peace and undermine the Government's fight against illicit drugs," the statement said.
In the interim, the President has named Mr. Christopher Peters, as Officer in Charge (OIC) of the Agency pending the conclusion of the investigation. Peters is a well-trained security personnel and comes highly recommended, the statement added.
The LDEA has been engulfed with infighting and acrimonious claims and counterclaims orchestrated by the top three officials with Director Kromah on one side and his deputies on the other side. This infighting reached its peak on Monday when a violent altercation erupted between Mr. Kromah and Fadiga, leading to the prompt intervention of Gregory Coleman, the Inspector General of the Liberia National Police, before the situation was brought under control.
The next day, Fadiga and Kowou made damaging allegations against Kromah in a letter to Justice Minister Oswald Tweh. They, among other things, alleged that Kromah is shielding drug lords, employing his kinsmen and training ex-combatants outside of the LDEA established protocols.
According to them, Kromah's alleged actions have resulted to the United States Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime withdrawing their support to the LDEA. Kromah is yet to respond, but speaking in a press conference on Monday, he said his deputies were bent on spreading gossip and falsehoods against him.
