Liberia: PUL Demands Proof Over Drug Claims

What the report says

AllAfrica, carrying a Liberian Observer report from Monrovia dated July 31, 2026, reported that the Press Union of Liberia has given President Joseph Boakai’s administration 72 hours to provide public evidence for claims that drug trafficking groups influenced parts of the media. The dispute followed comments by Inspector General of Police Gregory O.W. Coleman at a televised security briefing on July 30.

According to the report, Coleman said investigators had verified that international drug trafficking organizations put money into media circles to shift public discussion, distract investigators and create discord around Liberia’s major cocaine investigation. The briefing concerned the Duazon cocaine case, involving nearly four metric tons of cocaine valued at more than US$370 million. The report noted, however, that Coleman did not name any journalist, media outlet, payment trail or other specific proof.

PUL President Julius Kanubah said an allegation of criminal collaboration made from an official platform must be backed by names and evidence. The union described the remarks as a broad and dangerous stain on Liberian journalism and questioned why no journalists had been arrested or charged if the government had verified such conduct. Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah sought to clarify that Coleman was not accusing the entire media sector, but the PUL said that did not settle the matter.

The article also cited veteran journalist Samuka V. Konneh, who argued that any corrupt journalists should be exposed and prosecuted if evidence exists. The controversy matters because it places Liberia’s press freedom concerns alongside the state’s responsibility to investigate narcotics trafficking and corruption, especially as some police personnel have reportedly faced arrest or charges in connection with the cocaine case.