Monrovia — Senator Edwin Melvin Snowe of Bomi County has demanded a full retraction and public apology from the Daily Observer newspaper following what he describes as a defamatory and baseless article linking him to Citadel Mining Services, a Ghanaian company entangled in a rental dispute currently before the Debt Court for Montserrado County.
The article in question, published on September 29, 2025, alleged that Senator Snowe had acted as an agent for Citadel Mining and used his influence to shield the company from meeting its legal obligations in Liberia.
The report further implied that the senator may have been in a position to help locate the company's management, which has allegedly absconded after a court judgment against it.
Responding through a letter dated October 1, 2025, Senator Snowe's legal counsel, Cllr. Lawrence Yeakula of the Liberty Law Firm, described the publication as false, malicious, and defamatory. The legal team accused the Daily Observer of engaging in unethical journalism by failing to verify its claims and proceeding to publish damaging allegations without factual basis.
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According to the letter, an examination of the records at the Debt Court reveals that Senator Snowe's name was never mentioned at any point during the proceedings.
The legal team also stated that the senator is not a party to the lawsuit, was never summoned by the court, and has no direct or indirect role in the dispute involving Citadel Mining.
What makes the situation even more troubling for the Daily Observer is the fact that the very lawyer the newspaper cited as its source, Cllr. A. Ndubuisi Nwabudike, has also formally denied making any such statement.
Cllr. Nwabudike, who represents Activa International Insurance Company in the case, wrote a letter to the Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Observer expressing his dismay over the report and demanding a complete retraction.
In his communication, Cllr. Nwabudike clarified that at no point in his written or oral submissions to the court did he accuse or implicate Senator Snowe in any impropriety. He described the article as a mischaracterization and factual misrepresentation of matters that never transpired.
The lawyer emphasized that the statements attributed to him in the newspaper were wholly unfounded and had the potential to damage not only his professional reputation but also his longstanding personal relationship with the senator.
Cllr. Nwabudike's letter further noted that the global reach of the Daily Observer's print and online platforms heightens the risk of reputational injury caused by the erroneous publication. He demanded a retraction with equal prominence to the original article, stating that the false reporting could carry significant political, social, and professional consequences.
The legal dispute at the center of the controversy involves a claim by Horizon Transport and Construction Company, which alleges that it leased a Hitachi 850 excavator to Citadel Mining Services in July 2022 for use at the Western Cluster mining site in Bomi County.
According to Horizon, Citadel failed to pay rental fees amounting to USD$378,000 over a period of nearly nine months. Following legal proceedings, the Debt Court ruled in favor of Horizon and ordered Citadel to pay a total of USD$430,920, including interest.
Citadel's failure to comply with the court's ruling has left Activa International Insurance Company, which posted a USD$750,000 indemnity bond on behalf of the company, liable for the debt. Activa has since attempted to challenge the decision but the court maintained that the company remains responsible under the terms of the bond.
In its article, the Daily Observer claimed that during court proceedings, Cllr. Nwabudike suggested Senator Snowe be summoned to assist with locating Citadel's management. However, both Cllr. Nwabudike and Senator Snowe's legal team now categorically deny that such a statement was ever made, and assert that the newspaper fabricated the account.
Senator Snowe's lawyers also expressed concern over the Daily Observer's decision to publish the senator's private phone number and the suggestion that he was avoiding media inquiries. The legal team argued that a lack of response to attempted contact does not justify the publication of what they described as unverified or outright false claims.
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In the letter sent to the Daily Observer, Senator Snowe's legal team demanded a full and unconditional retraction of the article, to be published in both the print and online editions of the newspaper. They further requested that the retraction appear with the same prominence as the original story and that the newspaper provide written confirmation once these actions are completed.
The senator warned that failure by the newspaper to comply would result in legal action, including a defamation lawsuit against the publication, its editors, and the reporter, Abednego Davis. The legal team emphasized that the newspaper had a legal and ethical responsibility to verify its information before publishing such serious allegations.
As of the time of reporting, it remains unclear whether the Daily Observer will comply with the demands for retraction and apology.
