Andani royal family blames govt for delays in bringing killers of Ya Na to book
The Andani royal gate of the Dagbon Traditional Area in the Northern Region has attributed the delay in bringing justice to the Overlord of the Dagbon Kingdom, Ya Na Yakubu Andani, as a planned effort by the government to shield the perpetrators.
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It would be recalled that the Ya Na was killed in cold blood by some unknown assailants on March 27, 2002 together with some of his sub-chiefs and elders in the Gbewa Palace at Yendi.
However, 14 years after the crime, nobody has been punished in connection with the crime
Commemoration
Speaking at the 14th commemoration of the murder, the Dagbon regent, Kampakuya Naa Abdulai Yakubu Andani, said the murderers of the king had not been brought to book due to lack of political will by the government.
“We wish to state that the government should not delude itself into thinking that by deliberately procrastinating the matter, the long lapse of time will consign the murderers to history.
“By revelling in this delusion, the government should not turn round one day and look surprised when the wind of complacency it has continued to sow all these years, results in a whirlwind,” he added.
President
He said the sacred oath of Office of the President enjoined him to do right to all manner of persons, as a constitutional obligation.
He further noted that the murderers of the Overlord had not been punished not for want of evidence, but due to politics that the various governments had been playing with the case.
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“We wish to state that we are systematically documenting our repeated calls to the powers that be that they have the responsibility to the people of Ghana and to the people of Dagbon in particular to ensure that justice and the rule of law prevail,” Naa Abdulai Yakubu Andani said.
Burial
He also cautioned the government to stay out of the customs and traditions of the Dagbon Kingdom regarding enskinment and the burial process.
According to the regent, the issue of the performance of the funerals of Ya –Nas was the exclusive prerogative of the custodians of the Dagbon traditions.
“We, therefore, ask the government to respect these tenets of Dagbon traditions and the customs and allow the custodians of Dagbon traditions to perform their responsibilities,” he stated.
He said the Andani Family would under no circumstances accept any decision by the government to allow the burial of Mahamadu Abdulai IV at the Gbewa Palace.
According to Naa Adulai Andani, to allow burial of Mahamadu Abdulai in the Gbewa Palace is to reward crime.
“For the avoidance of doubt we would like to reiterate very forcefully that we shall under no circumstances allow the funeral of Mahamadu Abdulai to be performed at the Gbewa Palace,” he said.
Funeral rite
The performance of the final funeral rites of Mahamadu Abdulai IV, a late Ya Na, in the Gbewa Palace by the Abudu Royal Family is a bone of contention currently being mediated by the Asantehene-led Committee of Eminent Chiefs in the Dagbon chieftaincy dispute.
While the Abudu gate insists that the final funeral rites of Mahamadu Abdulai be performed at the Gbewa Palace, the Andani family, however, are of the view that Mahamadu Abdulai was not a Ya Na at the time of his death and so his funeral does not deserve to be performed at the Gbewa Palace.
Both the Abudus and the Andanis have been defending their positions on the performance of the funeral rites of of Mahamadu Abdulai, which has contributed greatly to the protracted Dagbon chieftaincy dispute.
Warning
Last year, the Abudu Family gave the government a two-week ultimatum to fast-track rehabilitation works on the Gbewa Palace to enable them to perform the final funeral rites of Mahamadu Abdulai or they would use any means possible to enter the palace to perform the funeral rites for him.
However, this ultimatum did not go down well with the Andani Family, who also, in a press statement, expressed their readiness to face any person who would attempt to use any means possible to enter the Gbewa Palace.
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