The Press Union of Liberia (PUL) has escalated its confrontation with the Joseph Boakai administration, mandating its leadership to engage lawyers after government failed to produce evidence linking the Liberian media to drug cartel financing.
At a mass membership meeting held Monday at the Union’s headquarters in Monrovia, journalists and media practitioners voted overwhelmingly to pursue legal remedies within one week. The decision follows Inspector General of Police Gregory Coleman’s sensational claim that drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) had “verified and established” payments to media outlets in a bid to sway investigations into Liberia’s record-breaking cocaine seizure.
Coleman’s remarks delivered July 30 on behalf of the Joint Security Investigative Taskforce, alleged cartel infiltration of the press amid the probe into more than half a billion dollars’ worth of narcotics. Yet, despite the gravity of the charge, no evidence has been presented.
Union members condemned the allegation as reckless, dangerous, and damaging to the credibility of journalism. They warned that unsubstantiated claims erode public trust, endanger reporters, and undermine democratic governance. Some argued the statement may have been born of frustration, designed to distract from mounting media reports implicating senior security and government officials in collusion with the cartel.
The motion to engage lawyers was tabled by veteran journalist Winston Blyden after heated deliberations. “Following more than an hour of discussions on the damaging statement from the Inspector General, I move that this body mandates the leadership of the Press Union of Liberia to contact our lawyers with immediate effect to seek appropriate remedies and report within one week,” Blyden declared, drawing resounding support.
PUL President Julius Kanubah, presiding over the meeting, hailed the membership’s solidarity. He stressed that the Union is not seeking confrontation with government but insisted authorities must provide evidence to strengthen the fight against illicit drugs rather than weaken it with baseless accusations. “The government must reveal the names of media institutions allegedly working with the cartel,” Kanubah emphasized.
As the Union prepares to unleash legal firepower, the standoff underscores a deepening crisis of trust between Liberia’s media and its security establishment. For the PUL, the demand is clear: produce evidence or face the consequences of a courtroom reckoning.
