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Claim: Former opposition lawmaker Acarous Moses Gray took to Facebook to claim that President Boakai issued Executive Order #141, urging civilians to purchase guns and register them within 12 months.
Verdict: Misleading! The Executive Order didn’t tell civilians to buy weapons. Instead, it admonished civilians who already have illicit guns to register them within 12 months. According to the President’s directive, the exercise is meant to trace people with illegal weapons and minimise criminality in the country.
Full Text
Violence remains a source of worry for a postwar country like Liberia. In a country with a history of 14 years of civil war in which the youthful population fully participated, possession of firearms without proper authorisation is illegal.
The National Legislature established the Firearm and Ammunition Control Act of 2015 to regulate the spread of arms in Liberia. The Liberia National Commission on Arms (LINCA) supervises this mandate.
Who can possess arms in Liberia?
Part IV Section 4.6 (a-c) of an Act to Amend the Firearms and Ammunition Control Act of 2015 states that exceptions can be granted by a Technical Committee approved by the Commission on Arms. This would be if it is based on the possession and use of firearms: game-hunting for livelihood, recreation in controlled facilities, traditional ceremonies, and other security needs.
In 2023, former Police Inspector General Patrick Sudue, during an appearance before the Senate Plenary, confirmed that civilians were using illegal firearms in the streets of Monrovia. The revelation led the Liberia National Commission on Arms (LINCA) and the Liberia National Police to revoke firearms permits nationwide in August 2024. The report can be found here.
On February 25, 2025, a former Lawmaker in the House of Representatives and member of the opposition political party, Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), Acarous Moses Gray, posted on Facebook that President Joseph Boakai has issued Executive Order #141 instructing civilians to purchase firearms and register them within 12 months.
“BUY YOUR GUN! President Boakai has issued Executive Order #141, which tells civilians to buy weapons and register them within 12 months. Boakai admits to insecurity in
Liberia,” Gray said in his post.
A screenshot of the post.
The claim accumulated 323 reactions, 504 comments, and 31 shares in this write-up. Some social media users agreed with the claimant in the comment section, while others disagreed. The mixed reactions led DUBAWA to initiate a fact-check.
Gray’s post incited citizens to obtain guns for self-protection in furtherance of President Boakai’s alleged claim. While some commenters abhor Gray’s comment, others fully support it.
A screenshot of comments.
Verification
DUBAWA researched the Executive Mansion of Liberia’s official Facebook page. Our search revealed that President Joseph Boakai Sr. issued Executive Order #141 on Feb 24, 2025, only to make firearm registration mandatory.
The researcher did a thorough content analysis of the Executive Order to determine whether it contains a clause requiring citizens to purchase guns for registration, as claimed by the Former Opposition Lawmaker Acarous Moses Gray.
The researcher did not find any such clause. Further, the researcher contacted the claimant via WhatsApp, asking for evidence and for him to substantiate which part of the Executive Order asked civilians to buy guns and register them. However, the researcher hasn’t received any reply since the publication of this report.
Screenshot.
The President’s executive order points out the growing national threat posed by the high rate of illicit firearms and ammunition, including military-style weapons being trafficked and circulated within and across the borders of Liberia, the proliferation, unregulated possession, and use of small arms and light weapons in Liberia. Executive Order #141 stated that the possession of unregulated arms in the country serves as fuel for conflicts and has the potential to destabilise the peace of the nation. As mentioned in Order #141, these reasons and others are responsible for President Boakai’s mandate.
“Now, therefore, I, Joseph Nyuma Boakai, President of the Republic of Liberia, by virtue of the power and authority in me vested by the Constitution and Statute Laws of the Republic of Liberia, do hereby order as follows:
1) That all persons (civilians and those exempted in accordance with Part IV, Section 4.1(b) of An Act to Amend the Firearms and Ammunition Control Act of 2015, who may personally be) in possession of military-styled weapons and single barrel guns shall register and obtain a permit and license from the Liberia National Commission on Arms and the Liberia National Police pursuant to Section 4.6 of An Act to Amend the Firearms and Ammunition Control Act of 2015. The stipulated timeframe for this exercise is within twelve (12) months, beginning on the effective date of this Executive Order.”
Executive Order #141 states that in the registration process, each firearm authorized for civilian ownership in line with the Firearms Law and the Commission’s regulations would be marked appropriately and recorded in the Commission on Arms’ national arms database to facilitate the tracing of said arms in cases of theft or misplacement.
It instructed all persons who, in violation of provisions of An Act to Amend the Firearms and Ammunition Control Act of 2015, are currently in possession of illicit firearms, including craft weapons as well as military-style weapons are required to surrender such weapons to the Liberia National Commission on Arms for processing and subsequent registration within the stipulated timeframe of this Executive Order.
Screenshot of the Executive Order.
If the former lawmaker’s claim had been credible, it would have been published in both local and international media in Liberia. However, the researcher checked all the influential media platforms but found no such report.
Instead, several reports accurately premised their conclusions on the exact content of the Executive Order. Some of those reports can be found here and here.
Conclusion
Based on our findings, President Boakai’s Executive Order #141 is meant to regulate the high possession of illicit arms in Liberia, not to incite or encourage civilians to purchase guns for personal protection, as Acarous Moses Gray claimed. Therefore, the claim is misleading.
