Spoon FM Communication Network, a network of three private radio stations in Monrovia has been closed on the order of the Civil Law Court of Montserrado County. Civil Law Court Judge J. Kennedy Peabody on Friday, July 14 issued a writ of attachment to close the offices of Spoon FM Communication Network, which include Spoon FM, Super FM, and Fabric Radio.

According to the writ, the Management of Spoon and its former CEO, Stanton Witherspoon should be arrested and be placed under custody if they fail to show property to cover the amount of US$5,250,000.00.

Defendant Witherspoon and the management of Spoon Communication Networks were sued by Wilmot Smith, a former Liberia Deputy Director General of the Liberia Institute for Statistics and Geo Information Services (LISGIS), for alleged damages against his character.

The defendants were sued at the Sixth Judicial Circuit Court for Montserrado for Action of damages for Slander and Libel for allegedly referring to the accuser as a criminal, after he was dismissed by President George Weah, following he and several other officials of the government and local vendors were accused of corruption, by the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) in June 2022. Smith and the other officials accused were forwarded to the Ministry of Justice for prosecution. Smith was also dismissed from his post by the president in November for ‘administrative reasons’.

Smith claims that following his dismissal, the station used its network to defame his reputation, characterizing him as a “Criminal”.

At the same time, the government of Liberia in a statement has clarified that it is not a party to the lawsuit brought against the media network.

The Government of Liberia re-emphasizes that it respects the right to freedom of speech and of the press as it has always demonstrated but is also cognizant of the fact that an individual feeling injured by the work of a media entity also has the right to seek redress under the laws of Liberia.

Meanwhile, the networks founder and former CEO Witherspoon has said that a team of lawyers representing him, and the station’s interest are on top of the matter and assured that the stations would be reopened soon.