Voice of Liberia Radio CEO, journalist Sekou Sheriff, has written a rather vocal letter to the National Security Advisor to the President Joseph Boakai Samuel Kofi Woods, highlighting several human rights violations allegedly perpetrated by the current regime.
In an open letter to Security Advisor Woods, the journalist said there’s seething indignation borne of the overwhelming evidence of over 22 documented human rights violations perpetrated under the current President Boakai regime.
Mr. Sheriff said these atrocities, including state-sanctioned brutality, extrajudicial killings, and systematic repression, have left the nation scarred. But said the Woods, whose voice was once respected as an inspired hope in the demand of justice, now echoes with a silence that is as damning, when the people of Liberia expected a principled leader in him, but inaction speaks volumes of your betrayal.
“Your position, which should be defined by steadfast defense of human dignity, has instead been marked by an appalling silence in the face of grotesque abuses. The current administration’s flagrant disregard for basic human rights has been compounded by your failure to act decisively. It is unconscionable that someone who once championed the cause of justice would now turn a blind eye to the ongoing carnage and systematic erosion of civil liberties—a betrayal that smacks of complicity,” journalist Sheriff told the national security advisor in his open letter.
The letter further highlighted what it termed as the “disgraceful” conduct of Inspector General Gregory Colman, under whose command the police force has allegedly been infiltrated by hardened criminals, and the normalization of excessive force has become routine, adding that the IG’s relentless abuse has not only endangered countless lives but has also sullied the reputation of our national security institutions, informing the National Security Advisor Woods that’s his failure to confront and expose “this corruption” is a direct affront to the very principles he once held dear.
According to Sheriff, each of the 22 documented human rights violations is a testament to the systemic decay that has festered under the watch of Mr. Woods.
The letter continues, “Your transformation from a vocal critic of tyranny during the Charles Taylor era to a muted and complicit figure in today’s oppressive regime is both ironic and infuriating. Once, you were a beacon of hope, exposing the brutalities of a despotic system; now, you stand idly by as political expediency and personal ambition enable the rise of corruption and impunity. This betrayal of your past convictions is a bitter pill for Liberians who believed in the possibility of a just and accountable state.
Journalist Sheriff said it was high time the security advisor shed the cloak of silence and reclaim the mantle of principled leadership, saying, “The heinous abuses continuing under your watch demand an immediate, transparent, and independent investigation—not just into the actions of Inspector General Colman and his cronies, but into the broader machinery of state oppression that you have allowed to flourish. The international community and every Liberian are watching closely, and your current inaction only deepens the wounds of a nation that yearns for accountability and reform.”
The communication called on Woods to break silence and act decisively to restore the integrity of national security apparatus, adding that the legacy of past misdeeds, reminiscent of the brutal Charles Taylor regime, must not be repeated under his watch.
“Our nation deserves a leader who stands up for justice and human dignity, not one who permits the relentless abuse of power. The time for excuses has long passed; the time for action is now. History will judge you not by your words, but by the actions you take in the coming days,” Sheriff told the National Security Advisor.
