Published: January 14, 2026
MONROVIA — Sinoe County Senator Augustine S. Chea has sharply rebuked the Liberia National Police for what he described as “arbitrary and selective policing” in the handling of two high-profile sexual offense cases, warning that inconsistent law enforcement threatens public trust in the justice system.
Chea, who chairs the Senate Judiciary, Human Rights, Claims and Petitions Committee, raised alarm over the police’s decision to arrest and charge dismissed Deputy Director of the National Security Agency Peter Bonor Jallah Jr., accused of sodomizing a 15-year-old boy, while declining to arrest suspended Deputy Youth and Sports Minister J. Bryant McGill, who allegedly raped a 16-year-old girl.
In a strongly worded statement issued Monday, Jan. 12, Chea questioned the legal rationale behind the contrasting approaches, particularly the police’s insistence on DNA evidence in McGill’s case while proceeding without it in Jallah’s. “So, on what DNA or forensic evidence did the police base their arrest, detention, and referral to court of sodomy suspect Peter Bonor Jallah, Jr.?” Chea asked.
Law Does Not Require DNA for Arrest
The senator stressed that Liberia’s criminal law does not make DNA or forensic evidence a prerequisite for arrest. Under the Criminal Procedure Law, he said, police are empowered to arrest a suspect based on reasonable suspicion or probable cause that a crime has been committed. Chea explained that victim statements, witness accounts, medical reports and surrounding circumstances are sufficient grounds for arrest, noting that DNA evidence, while valuable, is not legally required at the arrest stage.
“Treating DNA evidence as indispensable in one case but optional in another is a clear abuse of discretion and a violation of the principle of equality before the law,” he said, citing Articles 11(c) and 20(a) of the Liberian Constitution.
‘Legally Indefensible’
Chea maintained that while police acted within the law by arresting and charging Jallah without DNA evidence, it is “legally indefensible” to refuse to arrest McGill under the same standard and instead suddenly insist on forensic proof. He said the police’s decision to clear McGill of the rape allegation is even more troubling, raising serious questions about how such a determination was reached. “For the Liberian people and for the rule of law, J. Bryant McGill remains a rape suspect,” Chea declared.
The senator warned that selective application of the law weakens the justice system and creates the perception that some individuals are above the law. He called on the Liberia National Police to apply the law uniformly and impartially in all cases, emphasizing that justice must not only be done but must also be seen to be done.
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