Damning Critiques Targeting Kofi Woods – Sheriff points out shameful mutation of the presidential advisor  

MONROVIA – Like all iconic civil rights crusaders around the world, both living and dead, Samuel Kofi Woods was neither petitioned nor coerced to put himself forward during one of Liberia’s daunting eras as a voice of the people. That was when he was Executive Director of the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission (JPC), the inarguably most outspoken human rights organization in Monrovia facing the despotic Charles Gankay Taylor rule in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Woods  quickly rose to national, and perhaps international prominence, for his audacious stance against the horrors of Taylor’s rebel-regime-turned-civilian government, as he (Kofi) was in fact earlier well-known to be a fearless student leader in the 1980s from the University of Liberia’s Student Unification Party. When he was therefore appointed as National Security Advisor, the nation sighed with relief that Liberia’s ratings in various global human rights reports and that previous regime’s excesses bordering attacks on peaceful citizens would reduce or be history. And perhaps that’s why old man Joseph Boakai appointed him in the first place. But unanimous opinions amongst his former and present human rights icons is that abuses and violence against citizens previous condemned under Samuel Doe, Charles Taylor and George Weah have worsen under the current regime while the former famous rights defender in the most ideal post is ironically turning a blind eye. This must have provoked a local civil society organization to tender a censorious open letter, as The Analyst reports.   

Former human rights crusader Samuel Kofi Woods has got a very questioning mail that may embarrass him but not a shock a lot of his country people who know his history for badmouthing past regimes on their human rights deportments and has now become mute if not complicit in horror tales being told in contemporary Liberian under his watch as National Security Advisor to President Joseph N. Boakai.

In an open letter dated February 10, 2025, the Chief Executive Officer of Voice of Liberia, Sekou Sheriff, hooted interesting lamentations and alarms about Woods’ chameleonic character as a human rights person of yesteryears becoming a silent patron and an accomplice to chain of abuses and violence by a government he is advising. 

“I write to you with a seething indignation borne of the overwhelming evidence of over 22 documented human rights violations perpetrated under the current President Boakai regime. These atrocities—including state-sanctioned brutality, extrajudicial killings, and systematic repression—have left our nation scarred. Your once-respected voice, which inspired hope and demanded justice, now echoes with a silence that is as damning as it is deplorable,” the Voice of Liberia CEO alarmed, adding that the people of Liberia expected a principled leader in Mr. Woods, but his inaction speaks volumes of betrayal of the people of Liberia.

Sekou Sheriff lambasted the national security advisor, saying that his position, which should be defined by steadfast defense of human dignity, has instead been marked by an appalling silence in the face of grotesque abuses.

“The current administration’s flagrant disregard for basic human rights has been compounded by your failure to act decisively,” he said. “It is unconscionable that someone who once championed the cause of justice would now turn a blind eye to the ongoing carnage and systematic erosion of civil liberties—a betrayal that smacks of complicity.”

The Voice of Liberia chief cited what called the disgraceful conduct of Inspector General Gregory Colman further deepens this betrayal, and that under Coleman’s command, the police force has been infiltrated by hardened criminals, and the normalization of excessive force has become routine.

He said the Police Inspector’s relentless abuse has not only endangered countless lives but has also sullied the reputation of national security institutions, calling Woods to his failure to confront and expose this corruption which is a direct affront to the very principles he once held dear.

He named some of the cases of violations, stating that “each of the 22 documented human rights violations is a testament to the systemic decay that has festered under your watch.

“Cases like the tragic demise of Amanda Nebo, the custodial death of Morris Gomo, and the brutal killings of Bangalie Kamara, Essah Massaley, and even a 17-year-old student—James Kandy—are not isolated incidents. They reveal a disturbing pattern of state-sponsored violence that has left communities shattered and trust in our institutions irrevocably broken. Your silence in the face of these appalling injustices is a stain on your legacy.”

Mr. said Wood’s transformation from a vocal critic of tyranny during the Charles Taylor era to a muted and complicit figure in today’s oppressive regime is both ironic and infuriating.

“Once, you were a beacon of hope, exposing the brutalities of a despotic system; now, you stand idly by as political expediency and personal ambition enable the rise of corruption and impunity. This betrayal of your past convictions is a bitter pill for Liberians who believed in the possibility of a just and accountable state,” he asserted. 

He called on the national security advisor to shed the cloak of silence and reclaim the mantle of principled leadership, adding: “The heinous abuses continuing under your watch demand an immediate, transparent, and independent investigation—not just into the actions of Inspector General Colman and his cronies, but into the broader machinery of state oppression that you have allowed to flourish.”

According to him, the international community and every Liberian are watching closely, and that Woods’ current inaction only deepens the wounds of a nation that yearns for accountability and reform.

“In conclusion, I call on you, Samuel Kofi Woods, to break your silence and act decisively to restore the integrity of our national security apparatus. The legacy of past misdeeds, reminiscent of the brutal Charles Taylor regime, must not be repeated under your watch.

“Our nation deserves a leader who stands up for justice and human dignity, not one who permits the relentless abuse of power. The time for excuses has long passed; the time for action is now. History will judge you not by your words, but by the actions you take in the coming days.”