Liberian Government Loses Extradition Case

-Concerned Grand Gedeans Observes First Victory with Caution

[See Court Documents below]

The government of Liberia has lost the extradition proceedings held at the Stipendiary Magisterial Court at the Temple of Justice. Magistrate Nelson B. Chineh ruled against government prosecutors seeking to extradite seven men said to be Ivorian citizens.

In his ruling on February 25, 2013, Magistrate Chineh relied on Article 6(a) of the extradition treaty entered in August 24, 1972 and ratified by on January 18, 1973 between the governments of Liberia and Ivory Coast to deny the Liberian and Ivorian governments’ frantic attempts to extradite seven alleged Ivorians accused of carrying out attacks along with others at the Liberia-Ivory Coast border on June 7, 2012, in which seven Nigerien UN troops and two Ivorian security forces were killed.

According to the provision of the treaty, “Extradition shall not be granted if the competent authority of the requested state is proceeding against the person sought for in respect of the offense or offenses for which extradition is requested.”

The Magistrate said he denied the extradition proceedings against the seven men because the government of Liberia has formed an indictment and has secured the issuance of a writ of arrest from the First Judicial Circuit Criminal Assizes for Montserrado County charging the respondents (the seven men) with the same offenses for which they are sought to be extradited.

In their argument before the court’s judgment, the petitioner/Government of Liberia produced two witnesses, Cllr. Mica Wilkins Wright and expert witness Alfred Quiah of the Liberia National Police who testified separately. Cllr. Wright confirmed a request from the Ivorian government to extradite the seven men to face criminal charges for alleged murder, rape, arson and theft of property. Officer Quiah told the court he participated in the interrogation of the seven and found them culpable.

But in their counter-argument, respondent lawyers, including Cllrs. Tiawan Gongloe, Dempster Brown, Arthur Johnson and others, told the court that extradition cannot lie because the seven alleged criminals were already charged in Liberia and therefore they cannot be extradited, in accordance with the treaty signed and ratified by both governments of Ivory Coast and Liberia. The defendants’ lawyers also argued that the case is in fact politically motivated, but the court quashed that argument.

Having listened arguments pros et cons, Magistrate Chineh ruled, “Wherefore, and in view of the foregoing, it is holding of this court that petitioner’s (government’s) petition for the extradition of the within named respondents be, and the same is hereby denied.” The prosecution has announced an exception to the ruling and says it will take advantage of the statutes controlling exception to ruling. Exception was noted by the Magistrate.

The seven alleged Ivorians who faced the extradition proceedings were Ivorian citizens: Nioule Junior, Bloa Nicaisa, Nioule Edward, Nioule Frick, Toue Bardison, Konanje Valeri, Nyelmin Tere Antoire. Everything held constant, the defendants will now be tried in Liberia together with the other 20 co-defendants.

Following the alleged cross border attack on UN troops in la Cote d’Ivoire on June 7, 2012, the government of Liberia went on an arrest spree rounding up 27 people, all of them hailing from Grand Gedeh County. The 27 men were arrested at various places, some on their farms, others deceived into arrest, while some others went to the police to complain of assassination attempt on their lives and they became suspects themselves, arrested and detained.

The Concerned Grand Gedeans in the Americas and its Liberia based branch launched a campaign to force the government of Liberia to charge the suspects, some of whom had been detained for up to one year without charges. And after more than 16 months, the government of Liberia indicted all of the suspects, who are current detained at the Monrovia Central Prison.

The Grand Gedeh Association in the Americas (GGAA), which had been sitting on the fence, finally set up a facts-finding committee headed by Jonathan Gayechuway. The committee recently submitted it report to the President of the GGAA, Tilman Collins, who is himself member of the committee. Since then the committee has been liaising with members of the Concerned Grand Gedeans in Monrovia and talking with defense lawyers. The committee received a package from the lawyers recently, but it is yet to act on the request of the lawyers.

Meanwhile, the Concerned Grand Gedeans say it is observing the preliminary victory with caution. In a statement issued, the group said getting a court decision barring the extradition is just a single step toward a long haul of legal proceedings involving the 27 Grand Gedeans currently in pre-trial detention at the Monrovia Central Prison.

“We want to thank our members, the lawyers representing our brothers, the GGAA administration and the people of Grand Gedeh for the support,” the group noted, “let us keep close ranks, the battle is not over yet. We have a tricky case ahead and only the rule of law we depend on for justice.”  

Report by Gibson W. Jerue, Chairman, Concerned Grand Gedeans in the Americas
Documents contributed by Isaac Kai, Secretary of Concerned Grand Gedeans in Liberia