The Dagbon Forum has appealed for continued restraint in Dagbon following a violent confrontation in Yendi on Thursday, leading to the death of one and renewed tensions.
The Forum is appealing for mutual respect towards each other and to allow for the provisions of the Asantehene led Committee ahead of the funeral of the late Ya Naa Yakubu Andani II
A 33-year-old individual was hit by a live bullet and died instantly after a skirmish broke out Thursday evening. The incident occurred at about 5.30pm, according to the police, when the chief of Sagnarigu with his entourage of about 20 fleets of buses and trucks arrived at Yendi.
The police said, while driving towards the Gbewaa palace, a section of the Youth of Yendi hurled stones at them smashing windscreens of vehicles.
A spokesman for the Northern Regional Police Command, DSP Mohammed Yussif Tanko, added in a statement to reporters that other vehicles entering Yendi or leaving Yendi Township were stoned and windscreens were smashed at Zohe a suburb on the Yendi Road.
“The windscreen of Police Navara pick up No. GP 3840 was smashed with a stone. Two rooms in two separate houses were burnt. Iddrisu Abdulai, a 50-year-old of the Abudu Royal gate was shot in the hip while Abdallah Somed 46-year-old was also shot at the upper part of his thigh. Both victims are receiving treatment at the emergency ward at the Yendi Government Hospital,” said DSP Tanko.
“Also, one male adult was shot dead in a house. A house known as Duayili at the old palace junction was burnt down. Abdulai Issah, 26-year-old of the Andani faction was slashed while riding on his motorbike and he sustained a deep cut at the back of his neck,” added DSP Tanko.
Speaking on the development, the Dagbon Forum condemned the violence and reiterated strong belief in the roadmap peace plan mediated by the three Eminent Kings.
“We believe that the roadmap provides a once in a lifetime opportunity to bring about lasting peace, stability and development in Dagbon, and for ordinary citizens of Ghana living in this part of the country to live fuller than they have over the last 40years,” National President of the Forum, Sulemana Abdulai said at an emergency conference in Tamale.
The Forum advised the people of Dagbon to focus on many things that unite rather than those that divide them.
It also reminded stakeholders to be guided by their activities on social media.
“The internet links have made the world smaller by facilitating exchanges of information, knowledge and connecting people. While innovations and use of mobile phones in Ghana are on the rise, they are sometimes used to stimulate and sustain chieftaincy tensions.
“We urge the youth to use social media platforms to promote peace and development. We also call upon the mainstream media to be guided by the cardinal principle of checking, cross-checking, and double checking information made available to them before publishing. They should be circumspect in their reportage in connection with the implementation of the final road map to peace restoration, unity and genuine reconciliation in Dagbon,” said the forum.
The Dagbon Forum reminded the feuding stakeholders in Dagbon to be mindful of the impacts of the endless conflicts on the lives of other people in the enclave and called for an end to all forms of hostilities in Dagbon
“Women and children who have lost opportunities for proper development and growth. Communities have been stagnated in their development and cohesion. We cannot accurately count the cost of this conflict with the Gbewaa Family to the children of Dagbon, to the people, and to economic and social development.
“The longer this dispute goes on the further back the communities become to attaining their aspirations. We are appealing to people to speak to whoever they can to ensure that this roadmap is implemented properly as fully.”
Source: Ghana/Starrfmonline.com/103.5FM/Eliasu Tanko
