Shani Alhassan Shaibu, Northern Regional Minister
The Northern Regional Minister, Shani Alhassan Shaibu, has called on the Dagbon Traditional Council to intervene in resolving the simmering chieftaincy dispute in Tamale to ensure peace in the region.
According to the Regional Minister, the Council should enforce the Yaa Naa’s orders which gives the Gulkpe Naa the sole responsibility as the chief of Tamale.
“Defiance of the Yaa Naa’s instructions is what is bringing us all these untoward activities. It is the Traditional Council which has the mandate of making sure that this instruction of the Yaa-Naa is obeyed to the latter,” he stated in a media interaction.
On Monday, March 7, the Dakpema Naa, Fuseini Bawa, and four others were wounded after some unidentified people launched a gun attack on the Dakpema palace.
The incident reportedly took place after the talking drum was beaten in the Dakpema’s palace on Monday dawn, which signified that the Dakpema is the chief of the area.
There has been seeming tension in the Tamale metropolis over who is the chief of Tamale.
While the Dakpema claims the title of Chief of Tamale, the Gulkpe Naa holds the same position, which caused the Dagbon Overlord, Yaa-Naa Bukari II, to issue an order restraining the Dakpema from carrying himself in that position.
Quelling tensions
The Northern Regional Minister has appealed to the Traditional Council to ensure that tensions are quelled to prevent events that sparked the attacks on Monday.
“The Yaa Naa was categorical… He said he didn’t have a Tamale chief. So, therefore, it is the Gulkpe Naa who has been assigned the responsibility of Tamale by him. I think this matter was settled with some instructions given to the Dakpema, who was contesting that title of the Tamale chief,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Northern Regional Police Command has started tracking some 15 persons suspected of raiding and attacking the Dakpema palace in Tamale on Monday dawn. The Northern Regional Crime Officer, Superintendent Bernard Baba Ananga, who confirmed the incident, said the Police are treating the incident as a crime.
He indicated that a joint police and military team had therefore been tasked to arrest the suspects as soon as possible for further investigations.
“We are still getting more information, which we think we may not like to share so openly like that because we have suspects to arrest. So, we have declared a manhunt, or we have declared a kind of police-military tracking of those suspects that we believe are involved,” Mr Ananga said.
“We had to make sure that we get them arrested and make it known to you. So we have about 15 of them who were in a white Toyota Hilux Pickup. We believe there were others, too; maybe the numbers may be higher than that [but] we’d make sure that we pursue them,” he added.
Meanwhile, the victims in the fatal incident are being treated at the Tamale Teaching Hospital, and are under stable conditions.
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