Drama occurred in the US$700,000 damages lawsuit against Ecobank Liberia, at the Civil Law Court, when the bank linked Martin K N. Kollie, Social Media Activist to conspiring with Yussif Kromah, the bank Reconciliation Officer assigned to the Card Operation Department to leak information about the account of Liberia Institute for Statistics and Geo Information Services (LISGIS).
The co-defendant bank, in its internal investigation evidence submitted to the court is title “LIGIS’s Statement Leaked Investigation,” it established that the information was manipulated with Kollie and the Spoon TV social media platform misinformed the country, accusing Wilmot F Smith, former LIGIS’s deputy director director information Coordination of looting the LIGIS’s account.
The investigation also claimed that Kollie and Spoon TV accuse former Finance Minister Samuel D Tweah of protecting Smith’s corruption behaviour. The investigation argued, the bank should not be held accountable for the actions of Kollie, Spoon and Kromah, which case, Smith is seeking US$500,000 in general damages and US$200,000 as punitive damages from the bank.
Smith is arguing that Kollie and Kromah’s action was exhibited within the regular course of duty of the co-defendant Ecobank, citing the doctrine of Respondent Superior. Under this law, the co-defendant Eco-bank cannot avoid responsibility for the wrongful conduct of its employee. The account is under the corporate bank business segment and managed by Charles Kpoh who is the Relationship Manger for Public Sector arm of the business, according to the investigative evidence.
But Smith is claiming that the leaked the information to Kollie, who widely circulated his face book page and the Spoon TV social media platform.
Smith arguing that the decision of the bank to expose him public ridicule, it damages his hardearned reputation.
He is demanding the amount of US$500,000 in general damages and US$200,000 as punitive damages from the bank.
The investigation said, Kollie on October 31, 2022, put up a post on his face book page that he has been investigating LSGIS account for a week and will expose how $769,297.08 and LRD42,331,085.00 were allegedly stolen.
The investigation established that on November 1, 2022, an activist/ social commentator with the name Martin K N Kollie started a Facebook post Titled “Fact Findings- why National Census has delayed since 2018-LISGIS a liability?”
According to the investigation, there are various allegation of financial impropriety raised by Kollie, but he failed to ensure due diligence in the write up. ” In this write up on Facebook, the name of the bank and the statement of the LRD Account 6101350441 for the months of July and Oct was attached while the USD Account 6100064362 statements for the months of March, June and July was attached too,” the investigative findings noted.
Martin K N Kollie alleges that the Media Assistant- (Aloysius Howe) to the finance minister withdrew the sum of L$160,000.00 on October 19th, 2022,the report alleges. The investigation claims that based on Kollie’s misinformation, then former President George Weah, on November 14, 2022, sacked Smith.
