Supreme Court Denies Tweah’s Petition for Re-Argument
February 12, 2026
Monrovia: The Supreme Court of Liberia has denied a petition for re-argument filed by former Finance Minister Samuel D. Tweah and four other former government officials, reaffirming its earlier ruling that they are not immune from prosecution in an ongoing criminal case.
The decision finalized on February 12, 2026, according to Spoon tv, upholds the Court’s December 18, 2025 opinion, which rejected the officials’ request for a writ of prohibition intended to halt criminal proceedings against the accused.
The petitioners Samuel D. Tweah, former Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Cllr. Nyenati Tuan, former Acting Minister of Justice Stanley S. Ford, former Director of the Financial Intelligence Agency, D. Moses P. Cooper, former FIA Comptroller, Jefferson Karmoh, former National Security Advisor. They are facing charges including economic sabotage, theft of property, money laundering, criminal facilitation, and criminal conspiracy.
The accused are arguing that as members of the National Security Council (NSC) operating under the Office of the President, they were entitled to the same constitutional immunity granted to the President under Article 61 of the Liberian Constitution.
In their petition for re-argument, the former officials claimed the Court relied on the wrong statutory provision, citing Section 2(g) instead of Section 3(b) of the National Security Reform and Intelligence Act of 2011, which outlines the composition of the NSC.
The Supreme Court acknowledged the citation error but ruled it “harmless”, stressing that it had no impact on the substance or outcome of the earlier decision. Justice Boakai N. Kanneh, delivering the opinion, stated that even under the correct section, no law grants immunity to NSC members.
“The immunity enjoyed by the President springs from the Constitution and is not transferable to third parties,” the Court emphasized.
The Court further held that the NSC’s placement within the Office of the President does not extend presidential immunity to its members. While NSC officials may expend funds for national security purposes, any alleged misuse of such funds remains subject to investigation and prosecution.
The Justices reiterated that courts cannot “add or subtract from legislation where the meaning is plain,” reaffirming long-standing principles of statutory interpretation.
The Court also clarified that a petition for re-argument is not an opportunity to re-litigate issues simply because a party disagrees with the Court’s conclusions. Re-argument is granted only when the Court has overlooked a significant fact or point of law — a threshold the petitioners failed to meet.
Accordingly, the petition was denied.
The Clerk of the Supreme Court has been instructed to issue a mandate directing the lower court to resume jurisdiction and proceed with the trial. Chief Justice Yamie Quiqui Gbeisay, Sr., and Associate Justices Yussif D. Kaba and Boakai N. Kanneh signed the judgment. Associate Justices Jamesetta Howard Wolokolie and Ceaineh D. Clinton-Johnson recused themselves. The ruling clears the way for the criminal proceedings to continue in the First Judicial Circuit Court, Criminal Assizes “C”, Montserrado County.
