The dismissed Deputy Director General for Information and Coordinator at the Liberia Institute for Statistics and Geo-Information Services (LIGIS) says at no time was he arrested and jailed on crimes of Economic Sabotage, among other crimes, as was in this paper’s February 2, 2024 Vol. 34 No. 13 edition.
In its back-lead story, the Inquirer reported that Wilmot Smith, along with others, was arrested and detained by Criminal Court ‘C’ at the Temple of Justice in Monrovia, an article he termed as a witch hunt when he stormed the Inquirer Newspaper on Monday, February 5, 2024 demanding a retraction of the story.
The story, quoting the indictment dated November 4, 2023, a copy which is in its possession, reported that Smith, together with the former Director General, Francis Wreh; the then Deputy Director General for Administration, Lawrence George, and the Comptroller, Dominic Paye, were charged with Economic sabotage (fraud, on the internal revenue of Liberia, misuse of public money), theft, and or illegal disbursement and expenditure of public money.
Other charges include misapplication of entrusted properties, forgery and counterfeiting, unlawful rewarding of public service, unlawful compensation for existence in government matters, and criminal conspiracy.
In other news, the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission, which is the lead prosecution in the case, is considering to challenge the US$5 million property bond because between the period 2019-2022, the amount of US$1,795,000 was transferred to LISGIS’ USD account #6100064362 at the Eco-bank Liberia Limited, but could not be accounted for, and that there have been several suspicious transactions of the said account.
“Additionally, it is alleged that contrary to relevant provisions of the Public Procurement and Concessions Commissions (PPCC), and fraud on the internal revenue of Liberia authorities, the defendants awarded contracts to several companies and failed to withhold taxes as required by law,” the story said.
However, Smith told this paper that he was never arrested and detained; rather, he appeared on the grounds of the Temple of Justice along with his legal representation with a property bond valued at US$5 million.
At another point, Smith’s argument was why the paper did not contact him, knowing his relationship with the media.
In a one-page letter dated February 5, 2024, to the Managing Editor of the Inquirer Newspaper, Madam Winnie Saywah Jimmy, Smith ordered the Inquirer to issue an erratum in the same space and placement on the paper upon the receipt of his communication, adding, “I have copied my lawyer, Cllr. Arthur Tamba Johnson, on this friendly letter.”
But the management said once a case is before the court, it is only prudent to quote legal papers and procedures as the occur within the courts, until the matter is logically concluded, and that Smith’s denial of the indictment in no way vilifies the court document and so the article does not lacked the ABC of journalism, except for the devil’s pen; report by Gideon Nma Scott, Jr.
