Press Conference By Abudu Royal Family In Dagbong On The Arrests Of Some Members Of The Abudu Gate In A Dawn Swoop Of Military And Police Contingent In Yendi On Saturday April 10th 2010.

Ladies and Gentlemen of the press, distinguished members of the Abudu Royal family, Sympathizers, ladies and Gentlemen. We have invited you to this press conference to express our shock and dismay over events of the past 48 hours involving members of the Abudu Gate in the Dagbon chieftaincy divide.

As some of you may already know, there was a military cum police operation that was carried out in the early hours of Saturday, April 10th, 2010 in Yendi. Over 40 members of the Abudu Gate were picked-up from different locations in and around Yendi between the hours of 3:00am and 5:00am. These included women and children, with their ages ranging from 14 to 76 years old. They were taken to Bimbila, about 44 miles away from Yendi, in the Nanumba District of the Northern Region. After what was described by the victims as a brief interrogation by the security operatives, seven were transported out of Bimbila, heading south towards the Oti River. The rest were transported back to Yendi and released from custody. Meanwhile, somewhere in Tema here in Accra, a similar exercise was underway to effect the arrest of one Mahama Abdulai (Samasama).

The families of the people abducted were obviously gravely concerned for the safety of their love ones. Our worry was based on the fact that this country has experienced a period in our history when a traditional leader from the Eastern Region was abducted by state security agents and has been missing since. We were also concerned because similar exercise involving state security operatives led to the abduction and killings of three prominent members of the judiciary.

Fortunately, in the evening of the same day, we were informed by some of our sympathizers that they spotted some of the people arrested in Yendi in a long convoy of vehicles heading toward the CID Police Headquarters. Our checks at the C.I.D. Headquarters revealed that three of them were brought there, but it was only the Mba-Dugu Iddrisu Iddi who was detained at the Headquarters. The other two, Alhaji Baba Zohe and Kwame Alhassan were sent to Cantonments and Nima Police stations respectively.

Mode of Arrest and Constitutional Matters

Ladies and Gentlemen, we condemned in no uncertain terms, the way and manner the security operatives arrested the people in Yendi. Indeed, all peace loving Ghanaians and human rights activists all over the world should condemn the actions of the NDC security operatives. Their modus operandi on Saturday was reminiscent of the dark and painful revolutionary days of the PNDC and the AFRC. All the people that were arrested were picked-up without being told why they were arrested. They were not advice their constitutional right to legal representation, neither were they told that they reserved the right to remain silent. They were snatched from their families without any family member being told where they were taken them to. At least two of them, including the 76 year old Mba-Dugu, were not allowed to put on their dress at the point of arrest. Kwame Alhassan was transported from Yendi to Accra without a top dress and footwear. Some of them who enquired to know why they were being arrested were brutalized by the security operatives before being transported to Bimbila. All those who were transported to Accra were denied food and were forced to stay hungry from dawn till about 8:00pm when we provided them with food.

Ladies and Gentlemen, various agents of government indulged in constitutional violations over the past 48 hours in their eagerness to appease the Andani family in partial fulfillment of their campaign pledge to the family. Four persons out of the seven that were brought to Accra were kept incommunicado from Saturday to Monday. All efforts to locate them failed and no family member was allowed to talk to them. The four include Mahamadu Kojo, Alhassan Kpatuya, Yidana Sugri, and Mahama Sayibu. This was in clear violation of their right to legal counsel as well as their fundamental right to have access to their family. One of the defendants, Mba-Dugu, was denied access to his lawyer at the CID Police Headquarters. This has serious legal and constitutional implications in any serious democracy. Witness tampering, forced testimony and inadequate or denial of legal representation is grounds for mistrial in most jurisdictions. The high-handedness of the NDC government in their handling of this case is a dangerous threat to due process and the rule of law.

Political Trial

Ladies and Gentlemen, you will recall that just over a week ago, the Andani family gave President Mills and his government a two month ultimatum to arrest the so called murderers of the late King of Dagbon. While we welcome any investigation into the unfortunate events of March 2002, we are disappointed that the Mills NDC government has elected to embark on a political trial that has the sole objective of increasing its electoral fortunes by energizing its political base in Dagbon. It is a sad day for Ghana’s democracy, that the pursuit of justice has given way to the appeasement of political allies. We wish to reiterate our message to the President following his inaugural address, that we intend to cooperate with any credible investigation initiated by the President to find the perpetrators of the events of March, 2002. However, we shall resist any political ‘kangaroo’ trial aim at convicting innocent people to satisfy the Andani family. We are convinced that the people arrested for the murder of the late king will be acquitted and set free by a competent court. We have confidence in our team of lawyers and continue to have faith in the justice system. No amount of political intimidation and persecution can break the spirit of the Abudu family.

Events of March 2002

The circumstances surrounding the events of March 2002 are now public information to Ghanaians. The Wuaku Commission report described what happened in Yendi in March 2002 as a war. The Abudu family is excited with the opportunity to tell the true story of the 3 day war which culminated in the unfortunate death of the Ya-Naa. We hope that by the end of this trial, the people of Ghana would know what actually happened in Yendi in March 2002.

We wish to take this opportunity to call on all members and sympathizers of the Abudu family to remain calm and continue to pray for the health and safety of the eight people in custody.