Tamale (Northern Region) -- There are conflicting reports that Yaa Naa Yakubu Andani is still alive and not dead as announced by the Minister of Information and Presidential Affairs, Jake Obetsebi Lamptey.
The Ghana News Agency reports counsel for the Andani gate in the Dagbon chieftaincy crisis Alhaji Ibrahim Mahama as confirming that the Yaa Naa is alive but declined to disclose his whereabouts. He said the person who was beheaded at the palace was not the Yaa Naa, but a mistaken identity by the mercenaries hired to kill him.

Several residents of Tamale on hearing the news that the Yaa Naa was still alive defied the curfew and trooped to Alhaji Mahama's house to have first hand information about the Yaa Naa.

Meanwhile, the Dagomba community in Accra has expressed anger and grief at the murder of the Ya-Na, Yakubu Andani II, and vowed to use every legal means to get to the bottom of the matter.

It described the incident as most barbaric and said it is unfortunate that at this stage of the country’s history, particularly in this democratic dispensation, such savage and cowardly acts should be carried out against the Overlord of the Dagbon area.

Dr Yahuza Gomda, a nephew of Ya-Na, who spoke on behalf of the community, at a meeting at Accra New Town, said, “The Killing of the Ya-Na will not end the story. What we fear is ripple effects of the callous act.”
He said, for instance, Tamale, the Northern Regional capital, is an extension of Yendi, and events in Yendi have catastrophic spillovers in Tamale and the entire Dagbon area. Speaking amidst tears, Dr Gomda said the Dagomba community is even more disturbed about the handling of the situation by the authorities. “We saw the warning signals and drew their attention, but we were told that all was calm at Yendi.

“Then the telephone lines and all other means of communications in the area failed, while a curfew was imposed. “Suddenly, we are told that the Ya-Na has been killed,” he said.

He recalled similar attack on the chief’s palace, on September 9, 1969, when personnel of the security agencies shot and killed 69 people in the palace, saying the old wounds have been raked again. “Now, they have finally done what they couldn’t do 32 years ago,” Dr Gomda added. He, however, appealed to Dagombas at home and abroad to remain calm.

In another development, the Okyenhene, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin, has expressed shock and dismay at the murder of Ya-Na, Yakubu Andani II and appealed to the government to intensify the deployment of security personnel to maintain law and order.

In a press release issued in Accra on Wednesday, Osagyefuo Ofori Panin called on other traditional rulers to join him to condemn the act. It also appealed to all factions to lay down their weapons immediately to enable peace and calm to be restored to the area.

The statement also urged all factions to ensure the safety and security of all women and children who always bear the brunt of such conflicts. It urged all Ghanaians to treat the incident as a national tragedy because “Ghana is a nation of families.”