Tension is said to be brewing in Ganta over the gruesome murder of a young motorcyclist by some unknown men.
The deceased motorcyclist, identified as Roland Jackson, was found dead in a cassava patch along the Secleapea highway.
According to information reaching the Daily Observer, the victim was found in a pool of blood, nearly beheaded on Monday, September 1, 2025.
The body was seen extremely muddy, indicating that he may have gone through a serious tussle with his assailant(s).
On Tuesday, September 2, 2025, the motorcyclists went on a rampage, besieging all entrances of the main building, threatening to burn down the police station after it was announced that the perpetrators had been arrested.
The motorcyclists paraded with the corpse through the main streets of Ganta on the back of a motorcycle, throwing stones at police, leaving the city, a commercial business hub, in disarray.
They forced through the border with the body, forcing some revenue agents to flee and abandoning their work for the rest of the day. The situation has caused a stir among the citizens, forcing businesses to close earlier than normal.
Two police officers were seen limping, complaining of allegedly being hit by projectiles hurled toward them by rioting motorcyclists.
“Two of my men were hit by stones,” a Regional Police Commander, only identified as Jackson from the Regional Hub in Gbarnga, was heard telling Nimba Detachment Commander ACP Larmin Mendin.
The situation turned tense at about 1pm local time and extended to midnight, with the angry motorcyclists setting a roadblock under the cover of darkness in defiance of the law.
Police used tear gas and light bullets to disburse the rioters, leaving smoke billowing throughout the community surrounding the police station.
Ganta is no stranger to violent protests at the discovery of the gruesome murder of motorcyclists.
Late last year, the wave of killing of motorcyclists intensified, where two cyclists were brutally murdered and their bikes taken away by their assailants.
The Police arrested the three suspects allegedly involved in the murder and took them to Sanniquellie for prosecution, but nothing is known of the trial since they were taken to court.
Ganta is one of the cities in Liberia with a huge number of commercial motorcycles plying the streets. They show their power through their numbers, often in defiance of the police, 98% of which are not armed.
Fortunately for this ongoing situation, the Gbarnga Security Hub immediately dispatched some officers of the Emergency Response Unit (ERU) to put the situation under control.
Also, City Mayor Samuel Hardt was able to persuade the motorcyclists to take the body to the funeral home from near the station, promising to underwrite the cost for proper burial.
Over the night, the police were able to remove all the road blocks set by the violent motorcyclists. However, no arrest is believed to have been made up to press time, as people went to bed in fear.
Nimba County police have only one vehicle, which hampers their timely response to violent situations. The lack of a vehicle has also forced the police in Tapitta to transport the suspects. A police officer, a prosecution witness and a community watch forum officer, who were also riding a motorcycle, died a tragic accident while transporting a suspect on one bike.
