By: Staff Writer
MONROVIA – The Monrovia City Court has issued a travel restriction on former House Speaker Cllr. J. Fonati Koffa and four other lawmakers in connection with the December 2024 fire that damaged the Capitol Building.
Judicial Sources say the order was handed down by Stipendiary Magistrate Ben Barco following a petition from state prosecutors requesting a Writ of Ne Exeat Republica.
It is a legal measure that prohibits individuals under criminal investigation from leaving the country.
Members of the House of Representatives affected by the order include Reps. J. Fonati Koffa, Abu Bana Kamara, Dixon Wlawlee Seboe, Jacob C. Debee, and Priscilla A. Cooper.
They face multiple criminal charges, including arson, criminal conspiracy, and criminal facilitation, stemming from a police investigation into the Capitol blaze.
Multiple sources confirmed to Liberia Excellent News Network (LENN) that Magistrate Barco has instructed all national security agencies to detain any of the lawmakers found attempting to leave Liberia via any official exit point.
This legal development comes just one day after Koffa and three of the accused lawmakers were remanded to the Monrovia Central Prison pending trial—an escalation that has intensified both the legal and political fallout from the high-profile case.
A hearing on the travel ban is scheduled to take place this morning at the Monrovia City Court.
