By Staff Writer
The Government of Liberia through the Ministry of Justice has produced its first witness in Police Chief Inspector and Criminal Investigator Peter W. Johnson who testified and chronicle the four lawmakers involvement in the alleged arson attack on the Capitol building between December 17-18, 2024.
Inspector Johnson testifying in open court described honorables Dixon W. Seeboe, Jacob C. Deebie, J. Fonati Koffa, Abu Kamra as the four big hands who conspired with Thomas Etherege, Eric Susay and Stephen Broh and other persons, to burn the joint Chambers of the National Legislature. Inspector Johnson said it was against that backdrop, the investigation today brought in court the defendants mentioned above.
He explained further that the investigation talked to Honorable Abu Kamara, he was asked as to his relationship with Amos Koffa now on the run and a conversation he Abu Kamara, Dixon Seeboe, Jacob Deebie had in car marked Honorable 15 on December 9 with Honorable J. Fonati Koffa.
In that conversation, the witness stated, defendant Abu was heard saying; “who is the president, that man is not president but you can call him president, he was on the phone, so when he said it, we went further to ask him and he told us that was Al, today we are in court because of the AI.”
According to him, the investigation further asked Honorable Abu Kamara, concerning one of his lieutenants who was moving between Abu Kamara and Dixon Seeboe in person of Amos Koffa to be identified and he told the investigation that he could not remember anything as he said his pressure was up.
He narrated that as investigator, they accorded the lawmaker a break then started with Honorable Dixon, the chief Architect, organizer of the fire incident. We brought in Honorable Seeboe, he was questioned.
The police inspector asserted that defendant Seeboe, and all of the actors in the trial had prior meeting or friendship before the fire incident. Etherege Thomas, as we speak in this court is assigned with defendant Fonati Koffa.
Amos Koffa works in the House of Representative, John Nyanytee works in the House of Representative with Honorable Dixon Seeboe, Stephen Broh and other persons also work in the House of Representative but with the exception of Eric Susay and Thomas Etherege.
He contacted them, he used John Nyantee, Amos Koffa and the other defendants to structure and organized the burning of the Capitol Building.
The witness noted that on the day of the commission of the crime, Thomas Etherege picked up Stephen Broh, picked John Nyantee, picked other persons who were involved in the commission of the crime and conveyed them from Brewerville to the Capitol Building, but while in route, they stopped Carey street at the intersection of Carey and Buchanan there where they bought a gallon of gasoline, by this time, some of the actors to include one Kaba and Tyrees, Jerry and other actors were already in town in the Capitol Building at this point, they went in the capitol building set it ablaze, Thomas Etherege and Eric Susay got on the bike and was directed by Thomas Etherege to defendant Fonati house opposite former vice president Jewel Howard residence around the National Identification Registry while other defendants made their way and absconded from the crime scene.
The witness further noted after the commission of the crime, Honorable Koffa got an information because they had a senior staff chartroom in Honorable Koffa’s office where information are exchanged.
He divulged in that senior staff chartroom, the investigator saw two of Honorable Koffa’s staff requesting that Thomas was at the police station and they needed somebody to quickly come to the Police to get his phone to avoid the security from identifying those messages that were in Thomas phone regarding the fire incident.
The witness stated that Honorable Koffa is a member of that chat room and the investigation believed that he saw the message. Honorable Koffa is one of the financiers of the group that burned the Capitol Building, the Joint Chambers of the legislature.
He said Thomas Etherege in his information to police referred to Honorable Koffa as higher-up or bossman. In that interim, he received $1,000.00 to pay those persons that were involved in the commission of the crime. In the issue of Conspiracy, once you agreed with another without knowing the another person who are conspirators in the commission of the crime and you acted in the form and manner defendant Fonati acted, you well be charged for Criminal Conspiracy and Arson.
He averred that defendant Seeboe was questioned or asked after he was informed of his basis rights. He denied to the investigation that all these persons that include Amos Koffa, John Nyantee and Stephen Broh and other actors that these were people from his constituent. Having said that, the investigation uncovered defendant Seeboe used Christian Koffa, a resident of New Kru Town who worked in his Seeboe office as file clerk to flee John Nyanyeete out of Liberia by providing money. He instructed his chief of office staff to give the money to Christian Koffa.
State witness narrated that the investigators still wanted to know the trend of this money and Stephen Koffa told the investigation that he and Seeboe had live discussion where Seeboe asked Tutugirl to take John Nyantee out of Liberia so he was sending Stephen Koffa to his chief of office staff to facilitate the travelling process. Stephen Koffa and Tutuhgirl took John Nyantee out of Monrovia to Loguatuo and he crossed and they came back the same day.
The state witness claimed that defendant Seeboe claims that he is not a part of the burning of the Joint chambers and other compliment of the Legislature but was able to facilitate a criminal who the Republic of Liberia needed to another country.
Meanwhile, the state witness is expected to appear in court on tomorrow, Wednesday, June 11, 2025.
