Riot police have shut a popular radio station critical of Liberia’s president and former football star George Weah.
The officers broke a steel gate and stormed the offices of Roots FM in the capital, Monrovia, shortly after its breakfast programme, The Costa Show, discussed alleged wasteful spending by Weah while “his people suffer”.
Justice Minister Frank Musa Dean confirmed to the BBC that riot police had been dispatched after his office had received a letter from the Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA) complaining that the station and two others were operating without a licence.
The justice minister did not say why the government did not turn to the courts to force the closure, as required by law. As police hammered the gate to enter the station, Henry Costa, its US-based owner who hosts the show via the internet, called on his followers to come and “rescue” it.