Monrovia, Liberia – Justice Minister and Attorney General Cllr. N. Oswald Tweh has mounted a forceful defense of the Boakai Administration’s escalating campaign against illicit drugs, declaring that Liberia has drawn a clear battle line against drug cartels and will not surrender its institutions to criminal networks.
Tweh made the declaration Wednesday, August 26, at the relaunch of the Edward Wilmot Blyden Intellectual Discourse hosted by the Press Union of Liberia (PUL) at its headquarters on Warner Avenue in Sinkor, Monrovia.
The discourse, held under the theme “Confronting Drug Trafficking: Strengthening Institutions, Advancing Accountability, and Safeguarding the Rule of Law,” brought together senior government officials, lawmakers, lawyers, civil society representatives, media executives and journalists for a national conversation on Liberia’s worsening drug crisis.
Tweh used the platform to argue that the government’s response has moved beyond rhetoric, pointing to major narcotics seizures, arrests, investigations and the public destruction of confiscated cocaine as evidence of political will and coordinated law enforcement.
He said the scale of recent operations demonstrates that the government has chosen confrontation rather than accommodation with criminal networks.
“In this battle, there can be no accommodation with criminality and no surrender to those who seek to profit from the destruction of our people,” Tweh declared.
His remarks come against the backdrop of Liberia’s largest-ever reported narcotics seizure, the interception of nearly four tons of cocaine in Duazon, Margibi County, following the earlier seizure of approximately 237 kilograms of cocaine at Roberts International Airport.
Tweh said more than US$336 million worth of seized narcotics was destroyed in July in full public view, describing the operation as evidence of a government prepared to confront the drug trade openly.
He credited the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency, Liberia National Police, prosecutors, investigators, security personnel and other national security institutions for the ongoing campaign.
“Our sleeves are rolled up, and the battle line between the drug cartels and the Liberian State has been clearly drawn,” he said.
The Attorney General insisted that Liberia’s objective is not simply to seize drugs but to dismantle the networks behind them.
He said the government’s responsibility begins with seizures but must continue through investigation, evidence gathering, prosecution and adjudication.
“At the Ministry of Justice, our responsibility is to ensure that seizures are followed by investigations; that investigations are followed by evidence; and that evidence is presented before the courts,” Tweh said.
He stressed that investigators must follow evidence wherever it leads, regardless of the identity or status of individuals involved.
According to Tweh, the government cannot limit accountability to couriers, drivers or low-level dealers while financiers, facilitators and influential actors escape scrutiny.
“If the evidence leads to a customs officer, a security officer, a businessman, a politician or any other person, the law must be allowed to take its course,” he said.
Tweh further assured the audience that influence, wealth, friendship or political connections would not shield anyone from prosecution where evidence establishes wrongdoing.
At the same time, he drew a firm line between legitimate accountability and trial by public opinion.
He cautioned that no person should be treated as guilty simply because a name is circulating on radio, social media or in political debate.
“That is not justice,” he said.
The Attorney General maintained that the government’s drug cases must be built on evidence, tested in court and determined through due process.
His comments came amid intense public debate over the government’s handling of the ongoing narcotics investigation, including allegations involving security officials and politically connected individuals.
Tweh rejected criticism that the administration has failed to act, arguing that some critics have continued to dismiss government actions regardless of the scale of the results.
He said the seizure of nearly four tons of cocaine cannot reasonably be characterized as government inaction.
“Criticism must not become blindness,” Tweh said.
He acknowledged, however, that major narcotics seizures also expose weaknesses within the systems responsible for preventing drugs from entering and moving through the country.
According to Tweh, every successful seizure should prompt authorities to examine how the drugs entered Liberia, how they moved through the country and whether individuals within the system facilitated the process.
“If narcotics can move through a chain of handling, screening or transportation, then that chain must be examined and strengthened,” he said.
He called for stronger screening mechanisms, improved intelligence, closer coordination among law enforcement institutions and investigations into possible corruption or facilitation.
For Tweh, the objective is to ensure that authorities do not merely interrupt individual shipments but dismantle the criminal networks responsible for trafficking.
He argued that strong institutions are not institutions that pretend to be perfect, but institutions capable of identifying weaknesses, investigating wrongdoing and correcting failures.
The Attorney General also emphasized the critical role of the media in the drug fight.
He praised Liberian journalists and media institutions for reporting drug seizures, raising public concerns, questioning officials and keeping the narcotics crisis in the national spotlight.
Tweh said a free and responsible press is not an enemy of government but an important institution for exposing problems that government agencies might otherwise fail to see.
However, he urged journalists to distinguish verified information from speculation, warning that inaccurate reporting could inflame an already sensitive national situation.
“The media has the right, indeed, the duty to ask hard questions,” he said.
At the same time, Tweh said government has an obligation to answer legitimate questions honestly and accept public scrutiny.
He described that balance between government accountability and responsible journalism as essential to protecting the rule of law.
Tweh also linked his remarks to the legacy of Edward Wilmot Blyden, whose name now frames the PUL’s intellectual discourse.
He described Blyden as a scholar, Pan-Africanist, diplomat, educator, journalist and public servant who understood both the power of ideas and the importance of institutions.
Tweh said the choice of Blyden’s name for the discourse was particularly appropriate because the drug crisis is ultimately a fight for Liberia’s future.
“Narcotics do not merely violate our criminal laws,” he said. “They destroy young lives, weaken families, corrupt institutions, finance criminal networks and threaten the very capacity of the State to govern.”
He argued that a country whose communities and institutions are captured by drugs and drug money cannot claim to be fully free.
Tweh’s address also sought to frame the government’s response as a long-term institutional struggle rather than a temporary campaign.
He said the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency would continue leading drug interdiction and enforcement while the Liberia National Police and other security institutions support investigations and public safety.
The Ministry of Justice, he said, would continue guiding prosecutions and ensuring that cases move through the legal system.
“Our collective responsibility is to follow the evidence upward, outward and wherever it leads,” he said.
He also defended the government against claims that political considerations are driving its drug enforcement campaign.
Tweh said the administration would accept criticism and legitimate scrutiny but would not abandon its responsibility because critics refuse to acknowledge progress.
“The law will not be negotiated with traffickers,” he declared.
He warned that the fight against drugs must not itself become a justification for abandoning constitutional protections.
According to Tweh, the rule of law gives government the authority to investigate and prosecute but simultaneously protects accused persons from arbitrary action and journalists from retaliation for questioning government.
“If we weaken due process in the name of fighting drugs, we weaken the very Republic we claim to defend,” he said.
Tweh therefore called for a response that is not simply tough but effective, lawful, fair and consistent.
His message was ultimately that Liberia’s fight against narcotics must combine enforcement with institutional reform, accountability, responsible journalism and respect for judicial safeguards.
As the government continues its investigation into the country’s unprecedented cocaine seizures, the Justice Minister said Liberia now faces a defining test of whether its institutions can withstand the influence of organized criminal networks.
“We did not choose this threat,” Tweh said. “But we must choose our response.”
He concluded by reaffirming the government’s commitment to confronting drug trafficking, strengthening institutions, advancing accountability and safeguarding the rule of law.
Under the current administration, he said, Liberia has chosen to confront the drug trade rather than retreat from it.
