THERE IS A line between community vigilance and organized militia. The group of men calling themselves the “National Fula Security of Liberia (NFSL)” has crossed that line with military-style formation drills, quasi-uniforms, and a name that weaponizes ethnic identity under the guise of safety. We condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the establishment of this group. We urge the Government of Liberia, through the Ministry of Justice and the Liberia National Police (LNP), not merely to investigate, but to ensure the permanent dissolution of the NFSL and guarantee that no such ethnocentric security body is ever permitted to exist on Liberian soil again.
LET US BE precise about what is at stake. This is not a debate about the right of communities to organize. Liberians have always looked out for their neighbors. But when a group of men assembles in formation, dons what appear to be security-style uniforms, and brands itself with the specific banner of a single ethnic group—the “National Fula Security”—it ceases to be a neighborhood watch. It becomes a private army in waiting.
THE VIDEO CIRCULATING on social media are not images of a community meeting. They depict coordination, structure, and a visual mimicry of state security forces. The organizers may claim they are unarmed and well-intentioned. They may insist this is merely a “community-based initiative.” But intentions are irrelevant when the structural damage is already being done. By organizing along tribal lines for the purpose of “security,” the NFSL has lit a match and held it to the kindling of ethnic division.
WE REJECT THE narrative that criticism of this group amounts to the stigmatization of the Fula people. The Fula community in Liberia has some hardworking, peaceful, and law-abiding citizens whose contributions to our nation’s commerce and society are undeniable. They are not the enemy. The enemy is the idea—promoted by the founders of the NFSL—that any ethnic group in Liberia needs its own security force. That idea is a poison. If the Fula have a security force, why not the Kru? Why not the Kissi? Why not the Bassa? This is the dangerous arithmetic of civil war, and we refuse to do the math again.
THE GOVERNMENT’S INITIAL statement ordering the group to cease operations was a necessary first step. But it is merely the first step on a long road. The Ministry of Justice and the LNP must now move with urgency and finality. The organizers of this group must be identified and interrogated. Who funded the uniforms? Who commanded the formation? What was the endgame? These questions demand answers, not polite inquiries.
FURTHERMORE, WE CANNOT afford the luxury of ignoring the continental context. Across Africa, from the Sahel to the Lake Chad Basin to Somalia, Islamic extremist groups did not emerge overnight as fully formed terrorist armies. Groups like Boko Haram, Al-Shabaab, and JNIM began by exploiting local grievances, capitalizing on weak governance, and organizing in the shadows while the state looked away.
THEY FED ON poverty, identity politics, and the absence of the state. We are not saying the NFSL is Boko Haram. We are saying that the conditions that allow ethnic militias to form are the same conditions that extremist groups exploit. The path from “ethnic security” to insurgency is paved with the indifference of governments that refused to act when they still could.
THE LIBERIAN STATE must assert its monopoly on violence and security without exception. There can be no parallel forces. There can be no tribal armies. There can only be the Liberia National Police and the Armed Forces of Liberia. Any group that seeks to replicate the functions of the state under an ethnic banner is, by definition, a threat to the state.
TO THE YOUNG men who joined this group: You are being misled. You are being used as pawns in a game that will only bring suffering to your community and your country. True security is not found in a uniform worn with your kinsmen; it is found in a Liberia where all citizens are protected equally under one flag.
TO THE GOVERNMENT: History is watching. The Ministry of Justice and the LNP must ensure that the NFSL is not merely “disbanded” on paper, but eradicated in practice. No remnant, no rebranding, no resurrection under a different name. And moving forward, there must be a zero-tolerance policy for any group that dares to organize along ethnic lines for the purpose of security.
LIBERIA PAID TOO high a price for peace to watch it be dismantled by men in matching shirts playing soldier. Dissolve this group. Investigate its leaders. And send a clear message to every corner of this nation: In Liberia, there is only one security force, and it belongs to all of us.
