(30 July 2026, Monrovia): The Press Union of Liberia (PUL) has issued a 72–hour ultimatum to the administration of President Joseph Boakai to publicly release the full details and evidence supporting a dangerous claim that a “drug cartel” has infused monies into the media to sway and distract ongoing investigations.
The PUL warns that failure to release the evidence would be met with appropriate actions in defense of the integrity of journalism and media in Liberia.
The PUL considers the allegation, announced by Inspector General of Police Gregory Coleman on an official government communication platform at the Ministry of Information, as a reckless, risky, and blanket indictment of journalism and media in Liberia.
The Union insists that the evidence must be publicly availed to enable immediate and appropriate actions.
On Thursday, 30 July 2026, the Police IG, while providing updates on behalf of the Government of Liberia’s Joint National Security Investigation Team regarding the ongoing probe into the over 300 million illicit cocaine seizure, stated:
“It’s very disappointing to see those whom we depend upon to inform the public falling very much prey to the same actions of the DTOs. DTOs are Drug Trafficking Organizations. And one of the things that we are battling at this point in time is the fact that these DTOs – you have someone with almost over $336 million worth of narcotics here – definitely – one of the things they have access to is unlimited resources.
And we’ve been able to verify and establish that they have infused monies into the media to change the narrative, distract the key players in the investigation, and just sow a serious seed of discord. And that is not just hurting the investigations; it is hurting the nation.” – Gregory Coleman, Inspector General of Liberia National Police.
The PUL stressed such a grave claim made on a national platform to the entire world and in the presence of President Boakai’s top security team – including Minister of Justice and Attorney General Cllr. Oswald Tweh, Executive Protection Service Director, Sam Gaye, Officer-in-Charge of the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency Fitzgerald Biago, and Minister of Information, Jerolinmek Piah, cannot remain unsubstantiated.
“The police IG, having made this grave claim, is under an obligation to reveal the names of members of the drug cartel and the media allegedly involved in such pay-to-play transactions at the detriment of the public interest and the security of Liberia,” declared PUL President Julius Kanubah.
Although at the same press briefing the Minister of Information, Jerolinmek Piah, sought to clarify that the police IG was not referring to the entirety of the Liberian media, the PUL insists this does not absolve the Government of Liberia from making public the names of specific media actors accused of taking monies from the drug cartel – even as the Police IG appeared to endorse Minister Piah’s whitewashing clarification.
Kanubah further questioned why the police have not apprehended and prosecuted the alleged cartel members and the compromised media actors if such exchanges did indeed occur.
The Union emphasized that journalism in Liberia cannot be subjected to baseless and sweeping accusations without substantiation, as such actions put journalists and media in harm’s way, undermine press freedom, erode public trust and integrity, and weaken democratic governance.
The PUL noted that this is not the first-time officials of the Boakai administration have made blanket accusations against journalism and media in Liberia, particularly amid critical reporting questioning the integrity and efficiency of government agencies and state actors, including the very Liberia National Police – where some top-level officers have been implicated and indicted in the over 300–million cocaine case.
