The Chief Executive Officer for Orange Liberia, Mr. Mamadou Coulibaly has been relased to his lawyer after was he was arrested on Thursday June 25, 2020 for questioning in connection to early morning protest at Boulevard and the Old Road Community.
LPR’s judiciary correspondent said Mr. Coulibaly and lawyer spent several hours at the National Security Agency (NSA) office on Thursday while journalists were patiently waiting the outcome of his meeting with the security apparatus.
Information Minister Lenn Eugene Nagbe has earlier confirmed to Front Page Africa that Mr. Coulibaly is aiding the investigation.
A group mainly comprising of young people claiming to be members of the Council of Patriots (COP) on the same day staged a protest on the main Tubman Boulevard to central Monrovia calling on government to reverse its decision to impose further surcharges on Orange Liberia and Lone star Cell MTN.
Yes, I can confirm the the CEO of Orange, Mamadou Coulibaly has been invited along with his lawyer by the security apparatus to assist in the investigation,” Minister Nagbe said.
Coulibaly was accused of writing series of communication on surcharge for voice and data that according to report will double prices of voice and data call per minute.
Liberia Public Radio judiciary correspondent said Mr. Coulibaly might likely be charged with economic Sabotage if proven to have link with the protesters.
He was released on to his lawyer to report on Friday for further investigation linking him with Thursday protest.
The protesters set roadblocks and burn tyres on Tubman Boulevard, one of the only two ways leading to central Monrovia.
The government of Liberia has warned that it will not tolerate acts of violence and lawlessness on the part of any group of people that seek to disrupt the country’s hard-earned peace.
The two GSM companies in the country have been unable to agree with the government in recent days relating to the imposition of surcharges.
Who were the protester?
The Council of Patriots, through its chairman, Henry Costa, claimed Thursday during his talk show that the COP is responsible for the incident.
Mr. Costa has recently accused the government of president George Weah of imposing additional burdens on the suffering population of Liberia if the new surcharges is imposed on GSM companies.
Mr. Costa was quoted as saying that the protest was part of series of protest expected to be taking place across Liberia if government planned surcharges to GSM companies go ahead.
Any arrest made?
The Liberian National Police released a stamen late Thursday that at least 6 persons were arrested in connection to the protest.
In a statement the LNP strongly condemned such acts and assures the public that those involved will be made to face the full weight of the law.
The statement read:” Some agitators, claiming to belong to the self-style Council of Patriots, took to the streets in the early hours of June 25, 2020, causing damage to properties and harassing commuters with motives to cause chaos”.
The Liberia National Police has vowed to arrest other perpetrators of this senseless violence and forward them to court,” it further said.
The LNP says it will hold a major news conference Friday, to provide more details on the violent action, while giving a road map of its next course of activities.
This story was contributed by Garmah Lomoh and written by Mark Dahn
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