Regional News of Thursday, 6 December 2012

Source: The Citizen

Brutalities At Oyibi

…Oyibi Chief Calls For Investigation

By Christian Ahodie

The traditional rulers of Oyibi traditional area and the Tema police are on the heels of some persons believed to have brutally assaulted some residents of Oyibi barely before the celebration of the area’s traditional yam festival.

The suspected assailants, according to information gathered by The Citizen from the two police outfits, were believed to be sojourning in some towns within the Greater Accra Region. Their names were, however, withheld from The Citizen for security reasons. Three persons who were said to have been at the receiving end of the assailants’ gruesome attacks are Borkete Adumrebe, Douglas Okley Otu and Eugene Asare.

According to police sources, Numo Borbu Worstse, the head of the shrine of the Nungua Traditional Area, reported the matter to the Dodowa and Tema police units.

When contacted, the chief of Oyibi, Nii Borlabi Kukubi Okanshan VI, said on September 21, some natives and traditional heads of the area were dispatched to the Onukpa Bu River to perform some rituals before the celebration of the main festival.

He said while performing the rituals, some persons pounced on their entourage, including the fetish priest and priestesses, and subjected them to severe beatings with machetes and clubs. Nii Okansahan VI said the vehicle which conveyed the entourage to the river bank was badly damaged, not to talk about the theft of their cell phones and cash.

He said many of his people who were injured in the process were rushed to the 37 Military Hospital for treatment.

The attack, he pointed out, marred the celebration of the annual yam festival of the people of Oyibi and has also created unnecessary tension in the area. Nii Okanshan VI said he strongly believed in the rules of law hence the decision to delegate the shrine head of Nungua Traditional Area to make a formal report to the police for the law to take its course.

He was full of praise for the strategies the police have put in place so far to bring the suspects to book, and urged his subjects to be tolerant and patient while the police go about their work. He expressed indebtedness to the Nungua Traditional Area and the people of Oyibi for their support since he ascended the throne.

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