Daniel Nii Arde Tagoe
Head of the Nii Arde Nkpa family, owners of the Kokrobite, Langma and Tuba Lands, Accra, Daniel Nii Arde Tagoe, has condemned the attack on 15 persons at Kokrobite in the Ga South Municipality which led to the death of one person and left several others severely injured.
He is therefore calling on the police and all other relevant authorities to as a matter of urgency bring the perpetrators of the crime to book.
The gun shooting incident, which occurred last Thursday followed a misunderstanding which ensued between two factions in the area about the lifting of the ban on drumming ceremonies.
According to reports, police in the area had put the ceremony on hold due to some tension in the area, however, some individuals decided to defy the orders of the police and went ahead to begin preparing the grounds for the ceremony.
Nii Arde Tagoe in a statement said his outfit foresaw the incident and sent a letter to the District and Divisional Police Commands of Kokrobite and copied the Ga South Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) and other relevant security agencies, including the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) to draw their attention to the tension in the area which could possibly lead to chaos.
He stated that upon receiving the letter from his outfit, the Kokrobite District Police Command made an announcement that all impending programmes should be put on hold until further notice but a group of cohorts led by one Nii Offei III defied the orders of the police and ordered a gang to prepare a set up for a ceremony, which some residents opposed, due to the warning from the police.
This, he said led to the misunderstanding which allegedly resulted in the cohorts bringing out guns and starting to shoot indiscriminately, resulting in the injury of many, and the death of a member of the Asafoatse Klotey family.
Nii Arde Tagoe described the incident as dastardly and barbaric while calling on the Inspector General of Police (IGP), National Security Ministry and other relevant authorities to ensure the perpetrators of the heinous crime are brought to book.
He also appealed to residents and the public in general to volunteer information about anyone who was involved in the shooting incident.
The head of the Nii Arde Nkpa Family also hoped that the case would be treated with all the urgency it deserves.
“We are the owners of the land in question and we will not sit down for non-family members and land guards to come and destroy our beautiful tourism area. I am also appealing to everybody and the youth to calm down, please do not take the laws into your own hands, let us remain calm and allow the rule of law to take precedence in this matter,” he added.