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ADNews-Monrovia,Liberia: Montserrado County Senator Abraham Darius Dillon, along with three of his colleagues in the Liberian Senate, has formally called for the appearance of Liberia’s Justice Minister, N. Oswald Tweh, to explain what they described as serious procedural irregularities surrounding a subpoena that had been issued against the Senate.
The request, contained in a joint communication addressed to the Senate leadership and presented during plenary, underscores growing concern among lawmakers over what they say could have implications for institutional protocols and the constitutional balance among branches of government.
The communication requested that the Minister to provide a detailed explanation before the full body. The lawmakers noted that while the Ministry of Justice has since withdrawn the subpoena, the sequence of events leading to its issuance and subsequent withdrawal raises questions that the Senate believes must be addressed in the interest of transparency and accountability.
In their letter, the senators explained that the Senate had taken note of the Ministry of Justice’s application to Criminal Court “A” seeking a Writ of Subpoena Duces Tecum against officers of the Liberian Senate. The Ministry later filed a Notice to Quash the same subpoena on February 24, 2026. Although the withdrawal effectively halted the legal action, the senators emphasized that the circumstances surrounding the move required clarification.
According to the lawmakers, the central concern stems from what they believe was a misidentification of the institution responsible for certain financial processes referenced in an audit report. They cited the Auditor General’s System Review of the Financial Management System and Accounting Processes of the Liberian Senate for the period ending March 31, 2024, which reportedly found that financial operations connected to the Senate were processed by the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning rather than the Senate’s internal finance department.
The report, as referenced in the communication, indicated that the Senate itself does not disburse funds, handle payments, oversee the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS), or produce fiscal outturns. Instead, these responsibilities fall under the statutory authority of the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning in line with Liberia’s Public Financial Management Act.
The senators argued that many of the discrepancies highlighted in the Ministry of Justice’s initial petition to Criminal Court “A,” including differences between fiscal outturns reported by the Ministry of Finance and ledger entries within the IFMIS platform, fall squarely within the operational jurisdiction of the finance ministry and not the administrative functions of the Senate.
As a result, the lawmakers described the Justice Ministry’s decision to initiate criminal court proceedings against the Senate as procedurally improper. They further argued that launching such action against what they called a coequal branch of government without prior engagement represented a serious breach of institutional protocol and risked undermining the principle of separation of powers.
In their view, the action created the impression that financial variances under the control of the finance ministry were attributable to the Senate. They also noted that the subpoena demanded documents from an institution that, according to the audit findings cited in their communication, does not manage the systems in question. The senators contended that the later withdrawal of the subpoena suggests an acknowledgment of these procedural shortcomings.
To address the issue, the lawmakers requested that the Justice Minister appear before the Senate to clarify several key matters. Among the concerns they raised were why the Ministry of Justice chose to subpoena the Senate rather than the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning despite the audit’s attribution of financial processing responsibilities; what legal justification existed for directing a criminal court subpoena at the Senate without prior institutional consultation; and the reasons behind the decision to withdraw the subpoena shortly after it was issued.
They also asked whether the Justice Ministry now recognizes the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning as the proper custodian of the financial records and explanations referenced in the audit findings, and how the ministry intends to proceed in addressing concerns that originate from systems under the control of that institution.
Despite their criticism of the procedural approach taken, the senators reaffirmed the Senate’s commitment to accountability and transparency. They pointed to ongoing reforms within the Senate, including the implementation of recommendations from what they described as the Senate’s first-ever systems audit. According to the communication, the Senate Finance Office, supported by a financial consultant and working alongside the General Auditing Commission, is currently taking steps to address the audit’s findings and strengthen financial oversight mechanisms within the legislature.
The lawmakers maintained that accountability must be pursued within the proper legal and institutional framework, emphasizing that respect for constitutional processes remains essential to maintaining public trust and the functioning of government institutions.
The communication was signed by four senators, including Amara M. Konneh, Gbehzohngar Milton Findley, Senator Dillon, and Edwin Melvin Snowe. They collectively urged that the Justice Minister be invited to appear before the Senate on March 3, 2026, to provide the requested clarifications.
During deliberations in plenary, the issue sparked discussion among lawmakers regarding the appropriate course of action. Some senators argued that the matter should be addressed directly through the appearance of the Justice Minister before the full Senate, while others raised concerns about involving the judiciary or expanding the scope of the inquiry.
In the end, the Senate opted for a procedural step that would allow further examination of the matter. Following a motion introduced by Margibi County Senator Nathaniel McGill, plenary agreed to refer the communication to the Senate Judiciary Committee for further review and recommendations.
The committee is expected to study the issues raised in the communication and determine the appropriate path forward, including whether the Justice Minister should be formally invited to appear before the Senate and how the institution should address the broader concerns about interbranch procedures raised by the subpoena incident.
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