The Press Union of Liberia (PUL) says it is following the action of the Liberia National Police to deploy armed military police officers at a transmission hub of the Lone Star Cell Communication Corporation, which houses the transmitters of Roots FM.
The Union has called on the Liberia National Police to speed up their collection of evidence at the Lone Star Communication Corporation (Lone Star) transmission site on Johnson Street, in Central Monrovia.
Last Sunday, the Liberia National Police (LNP) clarified 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,, 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.
According to the PUL, the Police have won public confidence for swiftly responding to armed robbery incidents in the immediate past, but to only barricade an area on Friday, February 15, 2019, weeks after Roots FM reported the unfortunate attack is worrisome.
The umbrella group for Liberian Journalists says “our police must take into consideration the corporate interest of one of the country’s largest tax payers, Lone Star Cell and the rights of small-scale business, like Roots FM to operate and succeed in line with the Weah Administration’s Policies.”