The president of the Liberia Football Association (LFA), Mustapha Raji, is at the centre of a legal dispute after a magistrate’s court in Paynesville ordered his arrest over allegations of assault and disorderly conduct.
Mr Raji, who also serves on the Executive Committee of the Confederation of African Football, could not be located when sherrifs stormed the federation’s headquarters on Tuesday to carry out the court’s orders to arrest him.
His absence at the LFA offices has sparked suspicion on an escape as the CAF Executive Committee member could not be located in the building even though the car he uses on a daily basis was parked in the building.
Mr Raji is accused of physically attacking the president of Jubilee Football Club, James Nimene, during a meeting at the LFA headquarters last week.
A stipendiary magistrate, William G. Saygah, issued the arrest order on Monday following a complaint filed by Mr Nimene, who is acting as a private prosecutor in the case.
According to court documents, the incident is alleged to have taken place on 24 January in the LFA conference room in the Swankamore community of Paynesville.
Mr Nimene told the court that a verbal exchange escalated, during which he claims Mr Raji struck him on the chest, forcibly pushed him out of the conference room and threatened him.
The LFA president was expected to appear before the Paynesville Magisterial Court on Monday but did not attend. Court officials say this prompted the deployment of sheriffs to the LFA headquarters on Tuesday to enforce the arrest order.
Sheriffs reportedly gained access to the LFA compound but were unable to locate Mr Raji. There was no immediate comment from the LFA or Mr Raji on the allegations or the attempted arrest.
The dispute is understood to be linked to tensions between the LFA and Jubilee FC, whose leadership has been involved in a prolonged governance and registration battle with the federation.
Mr Nimene had visited the LFA to follow up on the delayed transfer and registration of several players moving from FC Fassell and Sameria FC to Jubilee. The club has previously accused the federation of placing administrative obstacles in its path.
Jubilee FC was reinstated to Liberia’s top division for the 2025–26 season following a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in October 2025, after a case centred on governance, transparency and accountability within Liberian football.
The case has drawn increased attention because of Mr Raji’s standing beyond Liberia.
As a senior football administrator on the continental stage, developments involving the LFA president are likely to be closely watched within African football circles.
There has been no official response yet from the Liberia Football Association, and it remains unclear when the court matter will be resolved.
