Ya-Na’s murder: 30 arrested

Ya-Na Yakubu Andani II         About 30 persons, including the caretaker of the Abudu gate, have been arrested in connection with the 2002 murder of the Overlord of Dagbon, late Ya-Na Yakubu Andani II, in Yendi. A military cum national security contingent from Accra picked them up in a swoop conducted on Saturday dawn. The arrests have received mixed reactions depending on which faction one belongs. Whilst the Andanis have welcomed the move, the Abudus have greeted the action with disquiet. Some youth in protest of the arrest, this morning, burnt car tyres, but Joy News’ correspondent, Mahama Shaibu, says calm has returned to the area with some brisk business going on. “[The security agencies] have taken over the town centre and the whole of Yendi is calm,” he said. Unconfirmed report also suggests that a former minister under the NPP administration, Prince Imoro Andani, was among those arrested. Our correspondent says a former NPP vice-chairman in the Yendi constituency, and a former NADMO co-ordinator in the NPP regime have also been picked up. The children of the late Ya-Na Yakubu Andani II, last week Saturday, issued anultimatum to the government to find the killers of their late father within two months or face relentless demonstrations. It is not clear whether the operation is a direct response to the ultimatum. At the time of filing this report, even though police confirmed the arrested persons are in the custody of the joint military and national security team, the exact location is still not known. Spokesperson for the Northern Regional Police Command, Chief Inspector Ebenezer Tetteh, indicated that the dawn arrest led to some tension in Yendi, but says the police are on the alert. “My information is that over 30 people were rounded up in a dawn swoop by a combined team of national security operatives and military personnel from Accra. But I will not be able to tell you whether those arrested are from gate ‘X’ or gate ‘Y’.” He hinted that the detainees would be sent to Accra. Chief Inspector Tetteh reiterated that the arrest is in connection with the ongoing investigations into the gruesome murder of Ya-Na and over 26 of his sub-chiefs in 2002. He assured that the security agencies have been placed at vantage points to ensure that there would not be any outbreak of violence. Meanwhile a group known as the Concerned Abudus for Peace and Justice has condemned the arrest. Dr. Ziblim Idi, a spokesperson for the group, has called on the government to explain the rationale behind the arrest, since those involved were not cited as murderers of the late Ya-Na by the Wuoko Commission that investigated the case. Story by Isaac Essel/myjoyonline.com/Ghana