Police Continue To Make More Arrests In Connection With Murder Of Chief Of Bimbila In Northern Region


Thirteen persons have so far been rounded up by the police to assist in investigations into the murder of the Paramount Chief of the Nanumba Traditional Area, Naa Dasana Andani.

The police indicated that further investigations were ongoing to apprehend all persons connected with the gruesome murder of the chief and three of his family members at his palace in Bimbilla last Thursday evening.
 
Currently, all entry and exit points in the Bimbilla area are being monitored by security personnel who have mounted barriers to track down the perpetrators. Following the murder, the government announced a GH₵100,000 reward for anyone with information leading to the arrest of the murderers of Naa Andani.
 
The police have assured residents of their safety but admonished them to volunteer information that would lead to the arrest and prosecution of all those behind the attack.
 
The death toll has now increased to five. One of the victims who was rushed to the Tamale Teaching Hospital has also passed-on.
 
Four days after the murder of the Overlord, there is still shock and disbelieve among residents in the area as they ponder over the way forward in the quagmire.
 
Even though the town looks calm following the heavy deployment of security personnel patrolling the area, social and business activities have slowed down significantly because of the impact of last Thursday’s incident that has put fear and anxiety amongst the residents.
 
A resident in the area, Mohammed Ibrahim told the Daily Graphic in an interview on Sunday that, “at the moment most people are confused on the way forward because already there were some disagreements over the rightful occupant of the skin.”
 
He claimed that while some residents recognised the late Nakpa Naa Salifu Dawuni as the paramount chief for Nanung, others paid allegiance to the murdered chief, Naa Dasana Andani as the Overlord.
 
“The Nakpa Na who died earlier in March this year is yet to be interred because Naa Andani insisted that he would not be buried at the Royal Mausoleum since he was not a recognised as Bimbilla Naa,” Ibrahim stated.
 
“While the traditionalists and authorities were still grappling with this nagging issue, then the worst happened last Thursday. Now, how do we come out of this difficult situation?” he enquired. 
 
Attack
The chief according to the police, was attacked and murdered alongside three other family members by some yet to be identified assailants.
 
Five persons including a baby who sustained varied degrees of injuries in the attack are responding to treatment at the Tamale Teaching Hospital where the remains of Naa Andani have been deposited for autopsy.
 
Family
At a press conference by the family of the Bimbilla Naa in Tamale on Friday, a spokesperson, Dasana Salifu alleged that the chief was attacked at about 6:30pm when he was praying in his compound inside the palace while other worshippers were in the mosque.
 
He claimed that the assailants who were dressed in Military and Police uniforms allegedly attacked the chief and the other victims amidst sporadic shootings. The attackers, one of who was said to have been identified by some occupants of the palace later bolted.
 
“We went into the compound of Chief Dasana Andani’s palace only to see him lying down motionless in a pool of blood on his praying mat,” Mr. Salifu indicated.
 
The family described the assertion by the Bimbilla District Chief Executive, Alhaji Mohammed Ibn Abass’s that the chief was killed as a result of a clash between the two factions in the Nanung chieftaincy crisis as “factually inaccurate, baseless, malicious and window dressing just to save his job.”
 
The spokesperson further claimed that the DISEC was aware of the warning signals but failed to act and therefore called for the immediate removal of the chief executive and the security capos in the area for their failure to protect the overlord.
 
They also demanded that the body of the chief be released to them for burial in Bimbilla claiming that they were not consulted before the body was deposited at the morgue.
 
Background

The Nanumba Traditional Council has two main Gates; the Bang-yili and Gbugma-yili whose representatives occupy the skin rotationally. 
 
The protracted chieftaincy dispute in the area became more pronounced after the demise and performance of the final funeral rites of the former Paramount Chief for Nanung, Na Abarika who belonged to the Bang-yili gate in 2003.
 
A crisis ensued as to who was qualified from the Gbugma-yili gate to succeed the skin. While the late Naa Salifu Dawuni indicated he was the rightful successor, Naa Andani also claimed he was the chosen one to occupy the skin.
 
The crisis compelled the Judicial Committee of the Northern Region House of Chiefs to investigate the matter.
 
The three member committee chaired by Yunyoo Rana Yamyia Tooka II subsequently declared Na Andani Dasana as the substantive Paramount Chief for the Bimbilla Traditional Area in a unanimous decision in March 2012.
 
The verdict did not however go down well with the late Naa Dawuni and his faction leading to their appeal at the National House of Chiefs which is yet to come out with its verdict.
 
Since then, there have been a couple of fatal clashes between the two factions including the death of Naa Dawuni in March this year. While the deceased’s family insisted that his body be interred at the Royal Mausoleum as a paramount chief, Naa Dasana rejected the request stressing that he never occupied the skin.
 
The remains of Naa Dawuni is therefore yet to be buried.


SOURCE: Daily Graphic