Government must act against rights violations, NGO says

The Catholic Justice and Peace Commission (JPC) has called on Liberia's government to take action against members of state security forces accused of rights abuses against civilians. The latest of such incidents occurred on 29 October when government security agents arrested and tortured two Nigerian nationals for allegedly stealing jewelry. One died from his injuries while the other has been undergoing hospital treatment, JPC said in a statement on Monday. Hundreds of Nigerians protested in the capital Monrovia on Monday against the alleged torture and killing, Liberia's Inquirer newspaper reported. Investigations by JPC revealed that the two, Amos Sackie, and the deceased, James Enakerakpo, were detained by security officials allegedly on the orders of the then Deputy Labour Minister Bedell Fahn. They were stripped, bound, blindfolded and taken to a base belonging to the Anti-Terrorist Unit (ATU), an elite presidential security force, where they were tortured, the Liberian NGO said. Fahn, the suspended minister and four ATU members have been arrested and charged with torturing Enakerakpo to death, the Inquirer reported on Wednesday. Two other suspects, also members of the ATU, were still at large. The Liberian government condemned Enakerakpo's murder on Monday in a statement by the Justice Ministry, The Inquirer reported. "Numerous instances of similar incidents involving state security personnel extensively abound," JPC said. "Regrettably, however, the government has adamantly refused to heed the clarion calls of the JPC and other human rights and civic organisations, while these atrocities persist unabated," JPC added.