eports emanating from the port city of Buchanan, Grand Bassa County indicate that the 2nd Judicial Circuit Court has released 12 suspects on a Surety Bill. 

The late Bruno Michel

The Surety Bond filed on behalf of the accused is valued at US$489,000.

They have been released into the custody of an elder of the Resilient Council of Grand Bassa County, Abba Kangar. He will ensure their appearance whenever the Court needs them.

The 12 suspects charged with “murder” have been in detention in connection with the death of Bruno Micheils, the Plantations Manager of the Liberian Agriculture Company (LAC) in November 2007.

The reports say the motion to admit to Bill the Principal of the Zono Public School, Arthur Crusoe and others was filed by Defense lawyers and has been argued since this week before the Court’s ruling today.

2nd Judicial Circuit Judge Benedict Holt, in his ruling, said the preliminary investigation conducted at the Magisterial Court failed to establish a probable cause to prove the suspects liable for murder.

He emphasized that it will be a violation of the suspects’ constitutional rights to continuously hold them in protective detention after two successive court terms without an indictment and trial.

State prosecutors led by Grand Bassa County Attorney Calvin Zogan, on the other hand, took an exception to Judge Holt’s ruling and said they would take advantage of statue.

It can be recalled that in November 2007, a few days after the management of LAC and the Liberian Government signed an agreement to carry on an expansion in the area, confusion between residents of Grand Bassa County’s Districts #3 and 4 and the management of LAC again resurfaced. The disturbance led to the fatal killing of the LAC Plantations Manager and the subsequent arrest of the Principal of the Zono Public School, Arthur Cruzo and 12 other suspects tied to the killing.

Bruneo Michael, LAC’s plantations manager was found dead reigniting a controversy that haunted the predecessors of the current government. Bruno’s body was reportedly found near the area where the current survey and expansion of LAC had taken place. Police reportedly found an empty shell of a single barrel gun in the vicinity of the crime scene. 

Eyewitnesses at the time told FrontPageAfrica that since the signing of the agreement, some residents had taken unkindly to LAC authorities pressure to remove the residents from their ancestral land, leading to Michael's death in the process.

According to the new agreement, signed between LAC and the Government, LAC will spend US$500,000 to build 200 housing units, a school and a clinic for about 100 family heads from 12 villages in the two districts.

At the signing ceremony, Agriculture minister, Toe assured the citizens of the two districts that the houses will be completed before the company begins its expansion program. He said the company will also employ people from within the area to carry on its expansion work, while government will ensure that LAC lives up to the terms of the agreement. “We estimate that as a result of this expansion, 2,000 children belonging to those who will be working will now be able to gain access to free education and to free health. Government will meet up with its obligation.”

Speaking on behalf of the company, Dr. Samuel Bennett said they were happy that finally they had reached an agreement with the inhabitants of the two districts for the development of their county specifically and the Liberia in general.

Bennett admitted during the signing that while the LAC management was not happy because of the minimum profit over a period, the country stands to benefit with the help of all its partners to grow. He noted that LAC will provide a minimum of 900 permanent jobs for the inhabitants during its expansion exercise. But despite the agreement, residents are said to be refusing to budge and are seeking more.