Son of Ya-Na: Government has disappointed us

Son of the late Ya-Na Yakubu Andani II says he is disappointed with government for failing to successfully prosecute alleged killers of his late father.

According to Mohammed Yakubu Andani the National Democratic Congress before coming to power promised them justice and only justice is what they will settle for.

His remarks follow a ruling by the High Court which acquitted and discharged 15 suspects charged with the 2002 violent incident in Dagbon which led to the killing of the late Ya-Na Yakubu Andani II and a number of his elders.

The ruling has provoked yet another violent incident with the Andani youth going on rampage, destroying properties of the ruling party in Tamale. One person has died as a result of the riotous incidents.

Speaking to Joy News' Israel Laryea on Thursday, Mohammed Yakubu Andani accused the NDC of deception.

He said during the 2008 campaign, the NDC promised the people of Dagbon it had incontrovertible evidence to prosecute the alleged killers and wondered why they will lose such a high profile case in court now that they are in power.

He explained the recent violent scenes that followed the ruling were as a result of people's disappointment with government.

“Government has disappointed all sympathizers and relatives of the Andani side. Right from that campaign - from the president to the last person in the NDC - they said everything about Dagbon. They assured us that they had all the evidence to arrest and prosecute any human being involved in the murder of the Ya-Na and his elders. So today you sit down and lose this way. Definitely people will not be happy," he said.

He maintained it was based on the promise by the NDC that majority of the people in Tamale voted for the NDC and has charged “the government to come out and come out well” or “we will come out and know what to do.”

He would not say what he meant by they will come out if government fails to produce the killers, except to say “that is left to us. We can't make it public now.”

He said the family respects the court's decision but hinted they will use every acceptable means possible to seek justice.

Rawlings

Ex-President John Rawlings

Meanwhile, aide to ex-president John Rawlings is questioning the propriety in prosecuting the alleged killers with what he says are discredited evidence gathered from the Wuaku Commission.

Kofi Adams said the commission, constituted by the Kufuor administration to investigate the cause of the 2002 incident was only a “cover-up” and wondered how an Attorney General or whoever took the decision to prosecute the case would rely on such a discredited report.

He said the government must conduct its own investigation and gather credible evidence before proceeding to court to prosecute the case.

Asked if ex-president Rawlings will bring the evidence he said he was privy to and which would incriminate the alleged killers of the late Ya-Na in a court of law, Kofi Adams explained when a thorough investigation is conducted by the government the evidence it will gather will be enough that the ex-president's evidence will no longer be needed.

According to him the tapes available to the ex-president were those that captured a meeting between himself (Rawlings) and the Ya-Na before his unfortunate death, adding, “subsequently after this dastardly act, many persons from Yendi and its environs have given information to him (Rawlings) and to us as a party and that is why we were convinced that there was a master cover-up of the crimes that were committed by the administration then. So you don't even need former president Rawlings to come and provide you with any evidence. If you put a credible institution in place all the truth will unravel,” he said.

Story by Nathan Gadugah/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana