CESTOS CITY, Rivercess County — Police in Rivercess County have forwarded a police recruit applicant, Annie Foko, to the Cestos City Magisterial Court following an investigation into alleged falsification of documents submitted during the ongoing Liberia National Police recruitment process.
Foko was forwarded to court on Saturday, October 3, 2026, after police accused her of presenting a falsified document as part of her recruitment application.
Speaking to Verity News, Rivercess County Police Commander, ACP Elton Gofa, said the recruitment exercise in the county has concluded, but the alleged document-falsification case remained pending before the recruitment team departed for Monrovia.
ACP Gofa said the recruitment team detected what he described as an attempt to compromise the verification process after discrepancies were discovered in documents submitted by Foko.
According to him, the documents presented by the applicant contained inconsistencies, including differences in the ages stated on the documents and questions surrounding the authenticity of the certificates.
He said the recruitment process includes verification of applicants’ age, educational qualifications, citizenship and other required documents.
ACP Gofa explained that documents are subjected to verification, including the use of QR-code systems where applicable, to determine their authenticity.
He said further verification allegedly established that the document submitted by Foko was not authentic and that it was originally associated with a male individual.
The police commander described the alleged falsification as a criminal matter under Liberia’s penal and criminal procedure laws.
He said the case is intended to demonstrate that applicants seeking to join the police force must comply with the requirements established for recruitment.
ACP Gofa further warned that allowing falsified documents into the police recruitment system could have serious implications for public safety, given the responsibilities and authority granted to police officers.
He said the Rivercess case should serve as a warning to prospective police applicants across Liberia’s 15 counties to ensure that all documents submitted during recruitment are genuine and meet the established requirements.
Applicant Denies Knowledge of Falsified Documents
For her part, Annie Foko denied knowingly submitting falsified documents.
Speaking following her detention, Foko said she did not know that the documents contained in her application were allegedly incorrect.
“I never knew. I didn’t open the documents. The person who did my work gave them to me. I came to Rivercess before I realized that the documents in my files were the wrong ones,” Foko said.
Foko also told Verity News that she did not graduate from high school, stating that she stopped at 12th grade.
She said she had been living in Montserrado County and was brought to Rivercess for the recruitment exercise.
The case has now been forwarded to the Cestos City Magisterial Court, where the allegations against Foko are expected to be addressed through due process.
