IG Sudue Reneges

MONROVIA-Inspector General (IG) of the Liberia National Police (LNP), Patrick Sudue has allegedly refused to endorse a request by Criminal Court ‘C’, for an arrest warrant to be issued with an order directing the police to immediately arrest several co-defendants in the ongoing US$5million case, that involves Nanborlor Singbeh, Secretary of the Liberian Senate,.

In the court arrest order submitted to Sudue dated April 14, 2022,  reads that, “You are hereby ordered to arrest and bring to this court the living bodies of Ousman Fofana, Mulbah Kennedy, Patrick Siaphe, Othello Z.B Karr, Nathaniel Barnes, Sylvester Selvkpoh, Patrick Saah Siaphian, and Gloria Caine.”

The arrest should have by this time affected three Czech Republic nationals including Ales Sranmek, Karel Socher and Jan Holask.

According to the records, the criminal court explained to Sudue, that in the arrest order, it attaches, the indictment that charged them with multiple offenses, to include; economic sabotage, theft of property, forgery and criminal conspiracy.

“And, forthwith bring them before this Honorable Court for prosecution. If the arrest is effected after court’s working day and hour (Monday-Friday,8am- 3pm,) you are further ordered to detain them at any nearby police station until the following working day and hour, when you shall have brought them to this court,” the court order instructed Sudue what to do after the arrest.

Interestingly, after not receiving the cooperation of Sudue, the Sheriff of the court along with the complaint and Attorney Hans Armstrong, a British national, two Czech Republic investors Martin Miloschewsky and Pavel Miloschewsky, who had claimed that they transferred to Singbeh the US$5million that include both cash and mining equipment intended to establish a mining company, the MHM Eko Liberia, in the country recently went to the office of Sudue, to ascertain about the situation.

Because, normally, when such a request by the court to the police, it takes less than two days, to have it endorsed by the IG, however, that is not the case with the Singbeh’s co-defendants.

Surprisingly, when Armstrong and the Sheriff arrived at the Sudue’s office, they were received by the chief of office staff to IG. Sudue.

To their dismay according to them, Sudue’s chief of office staff told them that when it comes to Singbeh’s arrest, the IG said, he would not endorse the court order.

“The court has the authority to arrest Singbeh, why are they requesting the IG to endorse Singbeh’s arrest, “the sheriff quoted the chief of office staff. “Go and come back later.”

But, what the Sudue’s chief of office staff did not understand, is that Singbeh had already turned himself over to the court, after the writ of arrest and indictment against him and his co-defendants were released by the court.

The endorsement of the arrest order is very important to the prosecution because they can use it for the police to issue an Interpol arrest order for those defendants that are outside of the bailiwick of the Republic, to be arrested by the authority of any of the country, they are currently residing, a prosecutor informer said.

His refusal means that the court is now blocked from arresting any of the defendants who names appeared on the arrest order, because of those individuals are very key to the prosecution case.

Some of them, the prosecution claimed was used by Singbeh, though, they were not an employee of the MHM Eko Liberia, they were said to have withdrawn some of the monies the Czech investors transferred to Singbeh through the Ecobank Liberia limited and the Afriland First Bank.

The banks are also among the defendants that are waiting to be tried on similar interest offenses.

Singbeh’s case was as a result of an investigation carried out by the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) based on a request of Armstrong.

Armstrong had a complaint for the LACC to conduct an investigation into the alleged siphoning of about US$5million in both cash and mining equipment that was transferred to Singbeh for the establishment of a Czech Republic-owned mining company, the MHM Eko Liberia Limited.

The LACC investigative findings claimed that the two commercial banking institutions (Ecobank and Afriland) used their respective facilities to allow Singbeh to open a bogus current account, in which, the Czech investors, who had never traveled to Liberia, unknowingly wired about US$2,459,109 to Ecobank, and US$102,000 to Afriland, and said the money was siphoned from that bogus account with the assistance of the management of the banking institutions, for which, the defendants are on trial with multiple criminal offenses ranging from theft of property,  forgery, economic sabotage and criminal conspiracy.

Alphonso Toweh

Has been in the profession for over twenty years. He has worked for many international media outlets  including: West Africa Magazine, Africa Week Magazine, African Observer and  did occasional reporting for CNN, BBC World Service, Sunday Times, NPR, Radio Deutchewells, Radio Netherlands. He is the current correspondent for Reuters 
 He holds first  MA with honors in International  Relations and a  candidate for second master in International Peace studies and Conflict  Resolution from the University of Liberia.