The regent of Dagbon, Kampakuya-Na Andani Yakubu Abdulai has condemned the clashes that erupted at Agblogbloshie, a suburb in Accra.
Violent clashes erupted Tuesday between Konkombas and Dagombas at the Agbobloshie Yam market in Accra with two persons feared dead.
Information gathered by Starr News indicate that the violence started after a Dagomba man was beaten by some Konkombas for allegedly stealing a mobile phone Monday evening.
An eyewitness who spoke to Starr News stated that two people including a pregnant woman were shot with several others sustaining gory cutlass wounds.
The Greater Accra regional police command said Wednesday that it has arrested five persons in connection with the clashes and that locally manufactured riffles were retrieved from them.
In a statement Wednesday, the regent described the clashes as saddening and unfortunate.
“As the Regent of the Great Dagbon Kingdom and Acting President Dagbon Traditional Council, on my own behalf and on behalf of the Chiefs, Elders and Citizens of Dagbon, I wish to strongly condemn the acts of violence perpetuated by some lawless people and criminals at the Agbogbloshie market on the 11th day of April, 2017,” the statement read in parts.
Below is the full statement
CONDEMNATION OF THE VIOLENCE AT AGBOGBLOSHIE MARKET IN ACCRA
As the Regent of the Great Dagbon Kingdom and Acting President Dagbon Traditional Council, on my own behalf and on behalf of the Chiefs, Elders and Citizens of Dagbon, I wish to strongly condemn the acts of violence perpetuated by some lawless people and criminals at the Agbogbloshie market on the 11th day of April, 2017.
The information received so far indicates that some people have died and others sustained various degrees of injuries as a result of the violent conduct of some individuals. I wish to express my deepest condolences to the bereaved family. I also wish the injured speedy recovery.
The cause of the violence is that someone is alleged to have stolen an item from a market woman and was beaten up by a mob. Subsequently, that person led some people to another person’s shop and pointed him out as one of those who beat him up. It is from here that the violence and destruction of lives and properties started. The sequence of events as narrated clearly points out to acts and conducts which amount to the commissioning of crime and lawlessness.
It is important for Ghanaians to appreciate the need to distinguish crime from other considerations such as ethnicity or tribe in order to allow the law to deal with persons who commits crime in our country.
It is unfortunate and sad for the police and the press to cover criminal actions with tribal or ethnic connotations. We live in a country where there is rule of law and respect for human rights of individuals. Therefore, the police, the press and the members of the general public should recognize and treat anyone who commits crime as a criminal who is acting on his/her own accord and not to link him/her to a tribe.
In my capacity as the Regent of Dagbon and Acting President Dagbon Traditional Council, I wish to reiterate that there is cordial relationship between Dagomba’s and other ethnic groups within the kingdom. Let me take this opportunity to say that Dagomba’s and Konkombas are peace loving people and they are not at war with each other. Therefore, what happened at Agbogbloshie in Accra should not be generalized and linked to any tribe.
I am calling on the police to arrest all persons involve in perpetuating the violence for investigation and prosecution in accordance with laws of the country.
SIGNED
REGENT OF DAGBON
(KAMPAKUYA-NA ANDANI YAKUBU ABDULAI)
