The Andani Royal Family of Dagbon has announced it’ll not continue with the funeral of late Naa Yakubu Andani II until the Bolin lana Abdulai Mahamadu evacuates the Mba Dugu’s Palace and security is tightened in the Yendi Township.
“This funeral can only come off if government assures us that
there will be maximum security and also to ensure that the Bolin lana
evacuates parts of the Palace he’s occupying” Mahama Sayibu,
spokesperson of the Andani Royal Family announced on Saturday.
The Andani family also says it has lost trust in the Northern
Regional Minister, Salifu Saeed who they allege has not been a neutral
arbiter.
The new demands of the Andani Royal Family follows renewed
clashes between some Abudu and Andani youth in the wake of the funeral
of the late King of Dagbon.
Early Friday morning, the Gbewaa Palace announced the
commencement of the funeral of Naa Yakubu II with firing of muskets at
dawn.
This was to be followed by the shaving of the sons and daughters
of the late Naa Yakubu Andani II, Friday morning, however a delay by
the Northern Regional Minister, Salifu Saeed, who is also Chairman of
the Northern Regional Security Council to hand over the keys to the
Custodian palaces, including the all important Katini Duu (Royal
Mausoleum) to the Kugu Naa halted the funeral process, with the family
saying the funeral process could not be continued until they received
the keys.
Things went from bad to worse when some youth, suspected to be
Abudu youth started attacking persons they suspected to be Andanis,
triggering a retaliation from the Andani youth.
It soon turned into a gun battle between youth of both sides,
leaving the security perplexed and overwhelmed, however after hours of
sporadic shootings, the security managed to bring the situation under
control.
Daily Press Ghana sources at the Yendi government hospital said
at least 20 people were brought in Friday evening with either gunshot
wounds or machete wounds.
Mr Mahama Sayibu told Journalists on Saturday the Northern
Regional Security Council did not do its work as it did for the Abudus.
“We’re saying the military was not enough, we are saying that
the REGSEC did not do its work like they did for the Abudus and we think
that the Regional Minister can no longer be trusted [and] is no longer a
neutral arbiter and we expect the president to sack him” Mr Sayibu
noted.
By: Daily Press Ghana
