Trouble Looms in Oblogo Over Chieftaincy, Land Sales

The Chieftaincy dispute at Oblogo, a suburb of Accra took a more intriguing turn as the faction of Nii Oblogo Lante, including elders and king makers of the Oblogo Lante royal family have fled into exile.

They were alleged to have been forced outside the Oblogo township by another faction loyal to Nii Kwaku Bibini III, who they claim is calling for their blood. Currently Nii Oblogo Lante, one of the claimants to the royal stool of Oblogo, his family and elders have sought refuge in different parts of the capital after their royal home was overrun by faithfuls of Nii Bibini. Nii Bibini on the other hand told the Chronicle on Wednesday that he knows nothing about the attack on Nii Lante Oblogo's family, saying it is a malicious fabrication to discredit him.

Nii Oblogo Lante and his elders however maintain that on February 4, Nii Bibini with his guards numbering about 50 invaded the royal home of the Oblogo Lante family, vandalised their property, beat up the Chief, his priest and elders who had then returned to the town to perform certain rituals as tradition demanded of them. They had been in exile for the past two years, Chronicle learnt. According to the exiled chief, the offerings to the Oblogo god were poured away while the age old ancestral stool was broken.

"They beat up my elders and my grandfather of over 75 years who was beaten with firewood" he moaned. Continuing, Nii Lante Oblogo said most of his relatives sustained various degrees of injury inflicted on them with cutlass and sticks. He said Bibini who is his cousin carries a locally manufactured gun with which he terrorises the township. "Even his boys openly brandish pistols and you dare not talk". One of the victims of Bibini's assault, Mohammed Laryea told the Chronicle that they joined the chief and his elders on February 4 to prepare a sacrifice to their god. "While preparing the food, Bibini and his boys attacked us and vandalised everything.

They fired warning shots to scare us away and also attacked us with cutlasses" Laryea said. Quizzed as to why Bibini seems to have gained the loyalty of the town's youth, Nii Lante Oblogo said "those youth are not indigenes of Oblogo. Most of them are squatters who settled at Oblogo after they were given parcels of land to build small wooden kiosks by Bibini". He told Chronicle his rival, Nii Bibini is the grandson of the Dzasetse and kingmaker, William Lamptey, but was refused the right to ascend the throne because his father is an Ewe from Anfoega. In addition, it is alleged that Bibini served a prison sentence while 'hustling' in Nigeria.

"Upon his return from Nigeria and realising his cousin was installed two years earlier, Bibini resorted to the indiscriminate sale of Oblogo land and this has resulted in him facing many cases before the courts" the Dzasetse said. Nii Bibini however refuted the allegations, insisting that he was installed as Chief of Oblogo and swore an oath of allegiance to the paramount chief, Nii Kojo Ababio. He said 'those who claim to have been hurt by natives of Oblogo at my command are liars because I never support violence." He also denied ever serving a prison term in the Nigeria and dared anyone to provide evidence of his conviction.

'If I am an Ewe, why should I be installed' Nii Bibini he said in reaction to reports that his father is an Ewe thus disqualifying him from occupying the Oblogo stool. He described Nii Lante Oblogo and his elders, as natives of Gbawe who want to benefit illegally from Oblogo land. Interestingly both men claiming ownership to the Oblogo royal stool showed this reporter photographs of their installation.

Meanwhile the Chronicle learnt that Nii Oblogo Lante and his elders have formally petitioned President J.A. Kufuor and the Interior Minister Alhaji Alhassan Malik Yakubu to send security men to Oblogo to maintain peace. They warned that the situation in town could be worse than that of Ablekuma another Accra suburb, where activities of illegal migrants and land guards have turned it into a death trap.