Andani Gate Steps Up Pressure On Gov't

The Andani gate in the Yendi chieftaincy dispute has stepped up its pressure on the government to expedite investigations into the murder of the Ya-Na and at least 30 of his supporters, saying they demand justice, not favours, in the criminal acts committed at Yendi. In a statement read by Dr. Wayo Seini at a press conference in Accra, they said they have made a commitment to get their people to refrain from acts of reprisals and would mobilise all efforts to ensure the resolution of the matter.

Dr Seini however said, although they have launched a formal complaint with the police on the incident at Yendi, in which the Ya-Na was among those killed, and provided a comprehensive list of suspects, the Andani family members are rather being questioned and detained. "The security agencies have over the past couple of weeks rather subjected members of the Andani family to a series of harassment, discriminatory and provocative searches of their homes.

"In the process, some members of the Andani family have been detained for reasons difficult to comprehend." Dr Seini said while they were being harassed at Tamale by the security agencies, "they have surprisingly left out Yendi, where most of the suspected murderers reside".

The Andani family has accused several top ranking government officials and former NPP Ministers of involvement in the clashes at Yendi and the assassination of the Dagbon King. The Ministers have denied the charges. Government has set up a high-powered team to investigate the bloody clashes at Yendi late last month, which clamed the lives of the Ya Na. But the Dagbon chiefs have requested for an independent inquiry into the incident. The government has also appointed a team of respectable chiefs to take a look at a peaceful resolution to the chieftaincy dispute that has defied solution for decades.