*Published: August 2025 | Truth In Ink Editorial Board
“Amah cried. Quita sold. The nation is awake. But will our leaders act?”
The August 7 protest is no ordinary event, it is a moral indictment of a system that has, for too long, allowed drugs to destroy homes, families, and futures. From street corners to State House corridors, the message is clear: Liberia must act.
While emotions stirred by Amah Giddings’ viral cry and the public outrage following Quita Kosso’s arrest have captured national attention, what we do next must be more than symbolic. Liberia needs reform, not reaction. Below are targeted policy recommendations, rooted in both domestic realities and international best practices, to transition our outrage into outcomes.
- Enact an Anti-Narcotics Emergency Framework.
Declare drug trafficking and addiction a National Emergency, and establish a Multi-Sectoral National Drug Emergency Taskforce (NDET) reporting directly to the President. This taskforce should comprise the Ministries of Justice, Health, Education, Finance, Gender, Internal Affairs, and Defense, alongside civil society and faith-based groups.
Objective: Coordinate enforcement, rehabilitation, and community outreach under a unified command with emergency authority and budget flexibility.
- Legislative Action: Amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (2023).
The 2023 law is robust in some parts but toothless in others. We recommend:
- Amend Section 14.8 to include Shared Transport Liability: Any airline, shipping line, or commercial vehicle found transporting narcotics must face legal and financial penalties, even if done unknowingly due to negligence. Ignorance must no longer be an excuse.
- Expand Schedule 1 Substance Penalties: Elevate penalties for mass trafficking of cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine to match those for capital crimes, reflecting the catastrophic societal impact.
- Mandatory Sentencing Guidelines: Establish sentencing minimums for drug barons, while expanding non-custodial rehabilitation for first-time addicts.
- Asset Forfeiture and Revenue Reinvestment Law
- Mandate that all seized financial assets and properties tied to drug trafficking be auctioned publicly.
- Allocate proceeds as follows: I. 20% to the arresting agency (performance incentive).
- 80% to a National Rehabilitation & Recovery Fund, supporting treatment centers, vocational programs, and reintegration services for addicts.
Let drug money fund the recovery, not enrich the perpetrators (Drug Lords).
- Border Security & Trafficking Route Interdiction
- Immediately fund and operationalize scanning systems at all air, land, and sea entry points, especially at Roberts International Airport and the Freeport of Monrovia.
- Establish a Regional Intelligence Sharing Unit under ECOWAS to monitor and intercept trafficking networks operating between Nigeria, Ghana, Guinea, and Liberia.
- Reinforce and deploy specialized K9 narcotics detection teams at border checkpoints.
- Temporary Travel Moratorium for High-Risk Nationalities
While acknowledging Nigeria’s historic role in Liberia’s peace and development, data shows a concerning trend: a majority of recent drug seizures and arrests involve Nigerian nationals, according to LDEA arrest records between 2022 and 2025.
We propose a temporary moratorium on the entry of Nigerian nationals, excluding:
- Accredited diplomats
- ECOWAS personnel
III. Pre-cleared guests with verified business or humanitarian interests
This measure is not xenophobic, it is strategic, as similar short-term moratoriums were used in Thailand and Indonesia during anti-trafficking surges.
- Mandatory Drug Education in All Schools (Public and Private)
- Develop a National Anti-Drugs Curriculum in collaboration with UNICEF, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Health.
- Train teachers to identify signs of drug abuse among students.
- Launch school-based peer support and anonymous reporting systems. Education is prevention. Prevention is cheaper than rehabilitation.
- Empower the Judiciary & Fast-Track Drug Cases
- Designate Special Anti-Narcotics Courts in each judicial circuit to ensure expedited trials for traffickers.
- Provide legal protections and incentives for whistleblowers and informants who expose trafficking networks, especially within government and law enforcement.
- Public Awareness, Not Propaganda
- Launch a National Anti-Drugs Media Campaign, funded through seized assets, featuring real stories from recovering addicts and bereaved families.
- Mandate radio and TV airtime contributions from all licensed media houses as part of their public service obligation.
- Ban glorification of drug culture in music, social media, and entertainment platforms.
A Final Word to Lawmakers and the President
You have marched with the people. You have shared Amah’s tears. Now you must write the laws, fund the fight, and hold your own accountable. This is not about optics. This is about saving a generation. As the late Nelson Mandela said:
“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.”
Truth In Ink stands ready to work with all stakeholders to draft legislation, hold public hearings, and mobilize civic support. But the urgency is now.
Let the August 7 protest be remembered not as a march, but as the beginning of a movement.
