Montserrado — Montserrado County Senator Abraham Darius Dillon, criticizes Liberia's justice system, accusing the judiciary of failure to punish corrupt officials. He, describes the Justice System here as one that "punishes the sheep and protects the wolves."
Delivering a brief remark on behalf of the Liberian Senate over the weekend particularly, the Judicial Committee of which he is a member, Senator Dillon accused the Justice System of protecting impunity, shielding the powerful, while punishing the powerless.
Addressing score of legal practitioners, stakeholders and politicians at the Liberian National Bar Association (LNBA) 2025 General Assembly held at the Temple of Justice in Monrovia, he described Liberian judicial system as a "broken justice system."
"When it comes to the fight against corruption and accountability, it sometimes seems as though the very people mandated to deliver justice are themselves avoiding it. The system has become disassembled. The messengers of justice seem afraid or unwilling to deliver the message. These days to speak against corruption, especially when you are a public official from the legislature appears like you are a very wrong messenger for the good message", he notes.
He questions the selective application of justice, emphasizing that ordinary citizens are often swiftly prosecuted, while those with power or connections remain untouched.
"Who must bring people to court? And when they are brought, who must muster the courage to punish wrongdoing? Until we answer those questions honestly, justice will remain out of reach for the average Liberian", he laments.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Senator Dillon further places specific lense of a legal loophole he believes is contributing to Liberia's culture of impunity - The Statute Of Limitations on non-capital offenses, particularly corruption.
"In this country, if someone commits a corrupt act or embezzles, mismanages, or abuses public trust, the Status of Limitations provides five year-time limit, and when that time passes without prosecution, they walk free. All the evidence in the world won't matter. The law says: it's too late. This is an affront of us who want to fight justice", Dillon notes.
He describes the current five-year statute of limitations "a legal shield for the corrupt", adding that in order to address the legal gap, he has proposed legislation to extend the timeframe for prosecution from five to fifteen years.
"Corruption doesn't disappear with time. It gets buried, protected, or forgotten. But justice delayed should not mean justice denied. When appointments and investigations are based on family ties instead of merit or evidence, we are nurturing a culture of corruption," he warns here.
In a direct appeal to his audience, Dillon calls on the legal community to support reforms and resist complacency. Editing by Jonathan Browne
