Police in Monrovia have arrested Mr. Mike Jabateh, a junior minister in President Joseph Nyumah Boakai's administration, who was recently accused of threatening a lawmaker critical of the president.

Mr. Jabateh, an Assistant Internal Affairs Minister for Urban Affairs, was reportedly arrested for allegedly making threats against Montserrado County electoral district #10 Representative Yekeh Kolubah.

On Tuesday afternoon, July 30, 2024, local radio stations indicated that Mr. Jabateh was picked up following his appearance as a guest on Prime FM.

Both Kolubah and Jabateh vigorously campaigned for President Boakai during his 2023 presidential bid.

While Jabateh remains a Boakai loyalist, Kolubah suddenly turned against the president before he resumed office and remains ruthlessly critical of the Unity Party (UP)-led administration.

Jabateh recently told a nighttime radio program on Spoon FM that he often gets upset by Kolubah's alleged constant profanity against President Boakai.

Following Jabateh's arrest, rumors circulated in some quarters that the arrest was prompted by his alleged show of gross insubordination and dehumanization of Liberia's Police Inspector General Col. Gregory Coleman.

However, the police authorities in Monrovia did not immediately respond to this paper's inquiry about Jabateh's arrest.

At press time on Tuesday, this paper gathered that Minister Jabateh was in police custody pending an investigation.

Minister Jabateh allegedly threatened to send trained assassins against Mr. Kolubah if he did not stop insulting President Boakai.

An audio of a purported conversation he had with Mr. Kolubah generated a huge public backlash, causing Jabateh to express regret on Spoon FM for his statement against the lawmaker.