Minister orders investigation into encroachment on school land

Tamale, May 14, GNA - Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris, Northern Regional Minister has directed the Tamale Metropolitan Security Committee (MESEC) to set up a committee to investigate the circumstances that led to a clash between students of the Northern School of Business (NOBISCO) and some land guards protecting encroachers on the school land. Last Sunday about 08:00 hours students of the school confronted a businesswoman who was developing a piece of land on the school premises and told her to put a stop to it but later around noon, a group of young men believed to the woman's land guards wielding guns and cutlasses attacked the students.

Sati-Naa Salifu Seidu, Headmaster of the School who briefed the Regional Minister on the incident on Monday said about 20 students sustained various degrees of injuries during the attack and it took the intervention of the police and military to restore calm to the school compound.

He said three persons had so far been arrested with two of them being former students.

Alhaji Idris said a committee should be set up to investigate the issue and find out among others, "who was encroaching on whose land, and with who's authority was the land being developed. He said the committee should submit its report to the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) within a week. He urged the Metropolitan Assembly to ensure maximum security in the School to enable the students who are presently writing the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) to write the exams peacefully.

He asked the School authorities to take the security issue seriously and advised the students not to take the law into their hands by destroying properties, but rather report such cases to the appropriate authorities for redress. The Regional Minister observed that encroachment on school lands in the Metropolis was becoming rampant and urged the school authorities to ensure that their school lands were properly acquired and their premises fenced.