- A new EU-backed report warns Liberia faces a drug use “apocalypse” that needs a holistic approach to combat
- Researchers say the growing number of users – now one in five Liberian young people – is driven by unemployment, broken families, and dealers targeting school children.
- The Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency admits it is crippled by lack of resources, while civil society accuses government of “hypocrisy” and experts call for treatment, education, and community action rather than punishment.
By Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon with New Narratives
Monrovia – Liberia is facing a full-blown drug crisis according to a new report that finds the reasons for the crisis are rooted in poverty, failures of post war justice, unemployment and a growing regional drug trade. The report, the first to look at the reasons for the growing problem, recommends a holistic approach from government and partners including the creation of a regional body that can combat the growing trade.
The European Union funded research, undertaken by the ENACT project at the Institute for Security Studies, based in Nigeria, in partnership with the Liberian organization, Citizens Bureau for Development and Productivity, released the research at a policy dialogue in Monrovia, with members of government, civil society and the international community. It came amid several weeks of protests and vigilantism against a drug den in Monrovia with citizens and desperate families of drug addicted youth calling on the government to act. Civil society actors have raised concern that vigilantism could lead to violations of human rights and fuel distrust in the rule of law.
“We realized that it’s not just about gangsterism. It’s a deeper problem with intersections in the economy, substance abuse, and social breakdown,” said Ndubuisi Christian Ani, senior research with the project. “These ghettos are terrible. Liberia is at the center of a crisis that requires awareness, prevention, and urgent action.”
The “ghettos” as drug dens are called in Liberia, serve as recruitment centers and hideouts for gang members in abandoned buildings, under bridges, beaches, and public spaces where young people commonly referred to as “zogos” consume “kush”, a highly addictive synthetic mix of dangerous chemical like fentanyl and methamphetamine.
In interviews with 51 drug users researchers found several issues as the causes for the drug problem in Liberia including socio-economic stressors, idleness and lack of employment, loss of family and social structures, forced self-reliance, migration to Monrovia seeking better lives, peer pressure and drug dealers targeting school children. Experts say climate change is a crucial factor, as farms fail, farmers and their children are forced to migrate to cities, illegal mining sites and other countries seeking employment. Ani said the dangers are mounting.
“This is not just a criminal issue; it’s a crisis of survival. We need prevention, awareness, and community action, not silence in the face of what is fast becoming a Zogo apocalypse,” Ani warned.
Ndubuisi Christian Ani, Senior Research and Project Coordinator for the EU-funded ENACT project: photo by Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon
Research findings
The are 1500 ghettos known as drug dens in Montserrado County and 866 ghettos in Monrovia alone according to the global Action for Sustainable Development. Experts also traced the problem back to Liberia’s civil wars. Drugs were used to fuel child soldiers, creating patterns of addiction and gang loyalty that persist today. With porous borders and limited economic opportunities, Liberia remains a transit hub and breeding ground for narcotics.
The report recommend a holistic approach to the crisis saying youth-focused development is a critical priority for addressing the cause of gang and drug abuse in Liberia with quick-impact youth empowerment initiatives, school drug prevention programs, international support to help Liberia establish treatment and rehabilitation centers. He also said the Economic Community of West Africa States, the regional political bloc, and the African Union should establish a joint task force with Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea to disrupt kush production points and supply chains.
The LDEA: Fighting with Empty Hands
The launch comes after the government has budgeted more than $3 million dollars to drug rehabilitation programs but reporting by Front Page Africa/New Narratives has shown very little of that money is making it to users. In the vacuum a number of amateur rehabilitation centers have been set up charging large fees from desperate families but doing little to solve the problem.
Representing the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency at the research launch, Gwee K. Porkpah, deputy director for administration, made clear that the Agency was working with limited resources.
“The agency has over 190 sub-offices nationwide but only five vehicles two of which are used for operations,” he told the gathering. Officers, many of them unpaid volunteers, struggle with low pay, lack of uniforms, and poor logistics. He said the government would never have the funds to combat the growing problem and called on Liberians to join in the effort.
“The LDEA cannot do it alone. The government alone cannot do it. This is everybody’s problem,” Porkpah said. He urged the Legislature to institute reforms on drug laws to align with international best practices.
Gwee K. Porkpah, deputy director for administration at the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency; photo by Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon
Civil Society Accuses Government of Hypocrisy in the Fight Against Drugs
Civil society leader Lawrence Yealue, country director with Accountability Lab, was scathing in his reaction to the report.
“The government has not intentionally said, ‘we will protect our own.’ Over years, they come and speak grammar, we will do this but with no budgetary support. That is hypocrisy,” Yealue declared.
He criticized the government’s fixation on enforcement rather than prevention, saying drug use should be treated as an educational and community issue first. Arresting addicts, he argued, only worsens the situation.
“I’ve seen journalists wrongfully arrested just because they were nearby,” he said pointing to the widespread accusation of corruption among Drug Agency officials and a lack of respect from the population. “If the drug enforcement agency wants credibility, it should start by testing its own officers.”
Yealue also pointed a finger at the Ministry of Education, accusing it of failing to build resilience in students. Outdated curricula and leadership detached from Liberia’s realities, he said, have left the youth vulnerable to recruitment by dealers and gangs.
Victims, Not Criminals
Security expert Samuel Ford, head for community service section at the Liberia National Police and lecturer of drug addiction and prevention at the African Methodist Episcopal University, urged Liberians to rethink how they view drug users.
“Some of these young people are willing to be rehabilitated, but the funding is not available. Private centers exist, but they are too expensive,” Ford said.
Instead of treating addicts as criminals, Ford argued, they should be seen as victims and even partners in intelligence gathering. “What if it was your child or your sister? Would you treat them this way?” he asked.
He called for a holistic system where law enforcement works with mental health professionals and social workers. But in Liberia, he lamented, the approach has been largely about raids and punishment. “If we are not careful, in the next ten years Liberia may produce a so-called president from the ghettos,” said Ford.
Yealue echoed the urgency: “Only a community-driven revolution against drugs can stop the spread.”
This story was a collaboration with New Narratives. Funding was provided by the Swedish embassy in Liberia. The funder had no say in the story’s content.
