Joint Military, Police Team Deployed Ahead of Bimbilla Verdict

A joint military and police force has been deployed to Bimbilla in the Northern Region ahead of Wednesday’s landmark verdict by the Supreme Court on the Bimbilla chieftaincy dispute.

According to the Municipal Police command, the move is to forestall any disturbances after the verdict.

A 15-year chieftaincy conflict in Bimbilla often leads to clashes between the various factions and has claimed over forty lives, including women.

Background 

The decision on who is the rightful Overlord of Bimbilla has been in dispute for years, prompting the claimants to appeal to the National House of Chiefs for adjudication.

This was after several failed attempts to get the Northern Regional House of Chiefs to rule in their favour.

The claimants; the late Naa Salifu Dawuni, appealed against the ruling of the Northern Regional House of Chiefs that affirmed Naa Dasana Andani II as the overlord of Bimbila.

Subsequently, Naa Dasana Andani Yakubu II was murdered by unknown assailants, while the case was pending at the National House of Chiefs.

The murder of the overlord led to some unrest in the area, and the developments compelled the Minister of Interior to impose a 12-hour curfew on the town.

However, the Regional House of Chiefs in their ruling in October 2014 declared the late Naa Dasana Andani Yakubu II as the rightful heir.

The Naakpa Naa faction, however, decided to head to the Supreme Court to seek finality on the matter.

‘Delays causing tension’

The Northern Regional Executive Secretary for the National Peace Council, Father Thaddeus Kuusah, on December 2017 complained that there was heightened tension in the Bimbilla area blaming attributing it to the delay in the Supreme Court ruling.

“It is not healthy because of the expectations, people are very confident, they are expecting that the ruling may go their favour and once the ruling comes, the dust will begin to settle. So whichever way it goes, I believe it will work. We need to keep reminding them that further delay is also causing a lot of anxiety in the area so if it is within their time frame to come out with the review as soon as possible it will help,” he added.

Source: Citinewsroom