Hawa Yakubu Calls For Probe Into Attempt On Her Life

The Member of Parliament (MP)for Bawku Central,Madam Hawa Yakubu,has called for investigations into attempts made in her constituency to kill her during the December 7 general election.

She said the investigations should also cover acts of intimidation that prevented most of her supporters from exercising their franchise.Madam Yakubu, who was also the parliamentary candidate for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for Bawku Central in the elections,made the call at a press conference in Accra yesterday to explain what took place in the constituency which she said “made mockery of freedom and fairness in the elections in my constituency”.

She said the enquiry should ascertain why, despite the volatile nature of the area, coupled with the proliferation of deadly weapons in wrong hands, there could be serious security lapses which led to the intimidation.“Measures should be put in place to prevent the recurrence of such violent activities, especially in the Bawku area during elections.

It is an undeniable fact that my opponents and their supporters wielded some weapons and intimidated my supporters at the various polling stations in my constituency on the day of the elections,” she claimed. Madam Yakubu alleged that the people attempted to kill her when she went to cast her vote.“But for the timely intervention of the military, my opponents and their supporters would have succeeded in killing me,” she intimated

“The situation was so serious that a soldier became a casualty in an attempt to save my life.He was hit in the shoulder by one of the supporters of my opponents who fired shots, apparently to kill me,” she added.

Madam Yakubu said her opponents went round Bawku and told the people that she was dead, which demoralised some of her supporters, thereby preventing them from exercising their franchise, adding, “The few who resisted the propaganda were harassed and prevented from voting.”

She said at the offices of the Electoral Commission (EC) where she had gone to verify an issue on the President's polling agents, both the NDC and the independent candidates aggressively challenged her, which made her to walk away.

She alleged that,she was also chased by some irate NDC youth who approached her, ostensibly to harm her, and in her bid to report at the police station, she was crossed by a pick-up, with registration number GR 819 S,which forced her to go back to the EC.

Madam Yakubu said if she had not restrained her supporters in the face of the torture, intimidation and vilification,“many innocent people would have died.”“I wish to make it clear that I intend to take legal action against both the NDC and the independent candidates and their supporters for their attempts to assassinate me,” she announced