The Liberia National Police (LNP) clarifies that it has not shut down Roots FM 102.7 FM headed by popular talk show host, Henry Costa.
Mr. Costa had earlier told the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) via WhatsApp that the station’s transmitter and other broadcast equipment were stolen by armed men in the early hours of February 11. It was the second incident at the stations’ premises in Monrovia in as many weeks, according to Costa.
In a press release issued by the police on Sunday, the LNP notes that based on standard investigative procedures, a Lone Star Communication Corporation (Lonestar Cell) transmission site on Johnson Street, where an armed robbery incident allegedly occurred has been cordoned off by officers since Friday, February 15, 2019.
The police says this is to prevent the tampering of evidence and in furtherance of the investigation.
The LNP “made categorically clear that no LNP officer has visited nor been deployed at the premises of Roots FM 102.7 as alleged by its Management.”
Lonestar Cell management, the owner of the facility where the armed robbery is alleged to have occurred, has been called in and are assisting the police with the investigation.
At the same time, the LNP says it is pursuing additional persons
of interest in connection with alleged armed robbery, assuring the general
public that will release its investigative report in the soonest possible
time.
The police has meanwhile assured the public of an impartial investigation.