Govt delegation assesses security situation in Dagbon

General Officer Commanding the Northern Command, Brigadier George Aryiku, has called on people of Dagbon in northern Ghana to support the government's efforts at resolving the Yendi chieftaincy crisis.

He has therefore, urged the people to be law-abiding and avoid taking the law into their own hands at the least provocation. Brigadier Aryiku made the call at a meeting with 26 chiefs and members of the Abudu gate at Nanton in the Savelugu-Nanton District.

He is leading a four-member government delegation to Dagbon to assess the security situation in the area and report its findings to the government. Brig Aryiku commended the Abudus for co-operating with the security agencies to maintain peace in Dagbon.

The Nanton-Naa, Sulemana Alhassan said it had been the prayer of his people to see peace return to Dagbon and for peace to prevail in the area, "there is the need to weed out all the bad nuts in the system".

At a separate meeting with religious leaders in Tamale, Brigadier Aryiku called on them to evolve a mechanism that would encourage the Andani and Abudu gates to live together peacefully.

"The government alone cannot bring durable peace to Dagbon without the full involvement of the people." "People in Dagbon must learn to work and live together as brothers and sisters."

The religious leaders urged the government not to rush to lift the curfew imposed on Dagbon. "Until we see both gates at a round-table dialogue, the curfew should not be lifted." They called on the government "not to allow the scale of justice to be tilted since peace is built on justice". They appealed to the people of Dagbon to desist from utterances likely to rekindle the conflict.

Meanwhile the delegation was in Yendi to hold a similar meeting with the Andanis.