Clan Heads And Chiefs Of Anlo On The Violence In Anlo

PRESS STATEMENT BY THE CLAN HEADS AND CHIEFS OF ANLO ON THE VIOLENCE IN ANLO

1. Ladies and gentlemen of the media, we have invited you here today as the legally installed chiefs, clan heads and custodians of the time honoured principles of the Anlos which eschews lying, cheating and using illegal methods to achieve one’s aims. We stand on that platform today to brief you, the media, on the truth of the happenings going on in Anlo land at this time.


2. You are all well aware of the happenings in Anlo land especially Anloga, the traditional capital which culminated in the unleashing of the full force of the men of the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Armed Forces on the defenseless and patriotic citizens of Anloga who simply tried to stop an illegality about to be perpetrated on their land. The carnage, loss of precious lives, wanton destruction of property and violations of the sacred shrines by the police is the result of the diabolical plot by people in authority to unlawfully assist one Nyonyo Agboada whose real name is SETH LUMORVI ATITSOGBUI in his desperation and inordinate ambition to usurp the revered throne of the Anlos. He has, in collusion with members of this government killed and maimed men, women and children of Anloga.


3. The claim by the top echelon of the Ghana Police Service, as amplified by the acting Public Relations Officer, DSP Kwesi Ofori, that they were at Anloga to maintain law and order is totally false. They were in our traditional capital of Anloga simply put to participate in and condone a criminal act. Their claim that they were there at the invitation of the Anlo Traditional Council to provide protection for the installation of Nyonyo has no basis in law and Anlo custom, and therefore unacceptable.


4. The Anlo Traditional Council does not have any capacity to install a chief for the Anlos. In any case the Anlo Traditional Council has been under a restraining order of the courts since the year 2000 not to install any person as the Awoamefia by virtue of suits filed in the Judicial Committee of the Volta Regional House of Chiefs by Amega C. N Kwawukume, Seth Kwawukume, Col Rtd Courage Togobo and the late Kofi Togobo elders and principal members of the Royal family. Specifically the purported installation of Nyonyo whose ancestry is in question as regent and as substantive Awoamefia is restrained by separate suits filed against Francis Nyonyo in 2003 and 2006 by the same persons and which matter is still pending in the Judicial Committee of the Volta Regional House of Chiefs.


5. The attempt to forcibly install Nyonyo is therefore a disrespect for the courts which amounts to contempt of the courts which is a criminal offence. The police by offering protection for such a criminal act are by implication condoning and participating in a criminal act. The ongoing chieftaincy dispute and existence of these ongoing cases is a matter of public knowledge and well known to the police. The admission of these by the Minister of Interior on Friday 2nd of November in his press conference confirms these.


6. They cannot therefore plead ignorance which in any case is not a defense in law. The police protection to forcibly install Nyonyo is therefore not only unlawful, a disregard to rule of law, a disrespect to the courts of the land, violation of Anlo custom but also criminal in intent and act. Simply put the police were at Anloga as common criminals dressed in police uniform provided by the good people of Ghana including the people of Anloga. They have demonstrated these by the killing of innocent people who were defending their custom and heritage, respect for rule of law and the courts of the land.


7. Police and media reports that the popular resistance to this government instigated and supported illegality was between Nyonyos supporters and other claimants to the stool is totally false. The claim that it was the youth of the Agave clan is not entirely true. It was a popular resistance by the youths of all the Clans of Anlo. Be that as it may the Agave Clan are the owners and the custodians of the shrine where the clash took place.. The use of the shrine for public rituals is guided by rules and customs which in this case were not being followed. The Agave clan therefore has a legitimate right in Anlo constitutional law and jurisprudence to refuse and resist the use of the shrine. The Agave Clan, as owners of the shrine, also has propriety right to refuse the violation of their property under the laws of Ghana by use of reasonable force. To have a fuller understanding of the legitimacy of the resistance we hereby provide a synopsis of the position of the Agave Clan headed by the Awadada of Anlo in the constitutional jurisprudence of the Anlos and the role the Agave Clan plays in the installation of an Awoamefia.


8. The Head of the Agave Clan is The Awadada of Anlo (The Commander In Chief of the Anlo State). The Awadada is the second in ranking in the Anlo State after the Awoamefia who is the first. The first point of call after the Royal family elects a person to be installed as an Awoaamefia is the House of the Awadada. The Awadada would then summon all the Clan Heads who constitute the King Makers of Anlo State (emphasis not the Chiefs of Anlo or the Traditional Council) and the Royal Family made of the three lineages who are eligible to the throne on an appointed date. The Awadada would then ask the Royal family to inform the King Makers of the Anlo State who are the Clan Heads of the election of the next Awoamefia. The Head and elders of the three lineages would be asked in turns if they are in agreement. If they are unanimous the Clan heads would go into Council, deliberate the choice of candidate and make a declaration of their approval. The election is deemed completed and thereafter any objection from any person is deemed subversive. A date would then be fixed for the installation. The Awadada would then send emissaries to all the chiefs and elders of the towns and villages in the Anlo state to gather at Anloga on the appointed date for the installation process of the Awoamefia to begin under the protection and the auspices of the Awadada.


9. The installation process would be completed with the Awadada introducing the newly installed Awoamefia to the citizenry at an outdooring ceremony, at a much later date which could be at least six months after the initial ceremony began.


10. If the three families that constitute the Royal Adzovia family are not unanimous at the meeting of the Clan Heads the Awadada would declare the election null and void. The Royal family would then be asked to go back and resolve their differences. Though the election is purely a family affair the declaration and the subsequent installation is a matter for Clan Heads who constitute the King Makers (and again not the chiefs of Anlo or the traditional Council). Any attempt to install a person without going through this process is deemed unconstitutional, a subversion and usurpation of the throne and the Awadada and the Clan Heads has a constitutional mandate to stop it.


11. The attempt to install Francis Nyonyo is therefore subversive of the Anlo constitution, tradition and custom. According to Anlo custom and tradition, the killing and crushing of the patriotic youth of Anlo by the police is not only subversive, unlawful, criminal but also amounts to a declaration of war on the Anlo State by the police, Nyonyo and his agents The current state of affairs in Anloga is therefore nothing but a criminal occupation of the land of our fathers by the police. The so called curfew and activities of the police under the pretext of maintaining law and order is just providing cover for the police to continue with their criminal activities and engage in revenge brutalization of innocent peace loving and law abiding citizens of Anlo.


12. The Police account of what happened on that day are a clear fabrication, falsification and an attempt by the police to be judges, prosecutors and witnesses in their own court as the evidence on the ground states clearly that they the police arrogated to themselves the illegal right to install an Awoamefia.


13. The chronology of events leading to the brutal and callous murders by the police is clear. The claim by the police that the patriotic citizens of Anloga fired guns at them is a blatant lie being bandied about to divert attention and cover up for their criminal and murderous behaviour. The youth had no guns. They were defending the shrine with their bare hands, the only weapons they had against the AK-47 rifles were stones. The police together with the hoodlums employed by Nyonyo armed with knives and cutlasses were the first to charge and inflicted cutlass wounds on some of the youths who were protecting the shrine.


14. In self defense they tried to repel the attack with stones. The police then aimed and fired their guns directly at the protesting youth killing two of them instantly. The police expecting that the youth would be cowed to abandon their patriotic duty were shocked by the bravery exhibited by the youths who, incensed at the death of their colleagues surged forward with their bare hands and a barrage of stones. The bravery of the courageous youths shocked the police who then took to their heels.

15. The claim by the police that the two died from their own mishandling of the gun of the dead policeman is false. The two youths were shot dead in cold blood for defending their mother land and in the performance of their constitutional mandate. The Kwaku Ananse story by the police should be treated with contempt and ridicule that it deserves.


16. For the police and our national security agents who are usually sent to ensure peace in these situations, one thing has become palpably clear: they are either supporting one side against the other or they do not see anything, hear nothing and therefore do nothing except to supervise the killing of innocent people. We have seen their performance in other areas.


Political & Police Interference.


17. The violation of the rights of the Anlos in general and in particular the shrine at which the clash took place by the police has been going on since the year 2000. To chronicle the persistent violation of the sacred Shrines and places and rights of Anlos by the police a perspective and insight into the genesis of the dispute is necessary for a fuller understanding of the recent developments,


18. The Adzovia Royal family is constituted by three lineages, being the descendants of the three sons of Togubi Sri 1, namely Fui -Agbeve, Dei-Azimexada and Adika Drafor.


19. The Fui-Agbeve lineage insisted among other reasons that as the elders they should be preferred to nominate the King. A position which the Adika-Drafor and the Dei- Azimexada lineages rejected for different reasons which for the fact that the matter is in court cannot be commented on extensively without being in contempt.


20. In the year 2000 Dei-Aximexada lineage confined one Patrick Agboba, then a Commissioner of Police. The police service at that time meddled in the process in spite of an injunction to halt the installation. Mr. Agboba being a former Commissioner of police always managed to procure the services of the police to continue with his installation till when they were cited and fined for contempt by the Ho High court in 2002.


21. The political interference by elements of the NPP government and the illegal use of the police by Nyonyo to subvert the Anlo constitutional process, violation of the shrines and sacred places started in 2003 when Francis Nyonyo declared himself a Regent of the Anlo State under the stool name Togbui Sri 111, a position that is unknown in Anlo Since then there have been a persistent and consistent pattern of harassment of the chiefs and people of Anlo who opposed this illegality by use of thugs, the police, and the courts by bribing corrupt members of the normal courts, whereas he has refused to submit himself to the Judicial Committee of the Volta Region. In the year 2005 when Nyonyo declared his intention to celebrate The Hogbetsotso festival the chiefs, clan heads and Dumegawo, sensing danger went to the Castle, the Office of the President of Ghana and petitioned the President John Agyekum Kuffour to protest the illegal use of the police and ask for his intervention to restrain him. The Chiefs and Dumegawo were promised that Government was going to examine their concerns and react accordingly.


22. To our surprise and shock a heavy security deployment, involving police and military at Anloga prior to the celebration day gave Nyonyo support and protection to carry out his intentions. That was the beginning of the story of the use of the regular police personnel and the Panthers Unit to prosecute the hidden agenda of the powers that be to assist Nyonyo to usurp the throne. He always travels to Anloga with heavy security details from the Police Headquarters that he deploys at will to harass and disrupt any meeting of the chiefs who will not submit to him. Whilst the police would prefer and prosecute vigorously thrum up charges against chiefs opposed to him with connivance of corrupt members of the bench the Police would not entertain any complain of assault, battery that he and his agents are quick to met out to any youth who is opposed to him. He finally succeeded in dismantling the Anlo Traditional Council.


23. The celebration of the Hogbetsotso festival and continued and as usual with heavy police and military support and in attendance government officials and party men and with it the defilement of sacred places by use of police men with guns and boots to forcibly eject the owners of the shrines to allow Nyonyo to perform rituals contrary to custom and tradition. The climax of the visible support by government was a courtesy call on Nyonyo at Anloga 10th January 2006 by The Inspector General of Police and the Minister of chieftaincy Affairs S.K Boafo. This was widely published in the state mediad particularly the Daily Graphic. That was the final Coronation of Nyonyo as the King of Anlos by the government.


24. Ladies and gentleman, citizens of Ghana we need to ask if this is not Government meddling in chieftaincy then what, is it?


25, The current and the ongoing criminal killings, beatings, harassments and brutalities going on in Anloga by the police is as a result of the people of Anlo standing up against the actual coronation of Nyonyo by the evil men and forces behind who thought that they were working in the dark not knowing that the sun never set on Anlo.


26. We the Clan heads, the Chiefs and people of Anlo hereby declare to the world at large and the people of Ghana that we are under occupation by evil men and forces of darkness using the state apparatus of Ghana. The conduct of the police and their current posture is one of occupying forces.


27. We know the names of high ranking officials in the NPP Government and Party that are behind this diabolical plot. We would however not mention names upon the injunction of the gods of Anlo and our ancestors. They know themselves and they can own up. However, the word of the ancestors and the gods of Anlo to them is that vengeance is theirs but not for us the living.

28. The current situation in Anlo should be put at their door step. The office of the President should vicariously be held responsible for their inaction and turning a deaf ear to the representation and the appeal to stop the unlawful use of the police force to support Francis Nyonyo. The Attorney General and his office should share in the blame for refusing to provide the Judicial Committee of the Volta Regional House of Chiefs with a lawyer to adjudicate on numerous petitions before the Judicial Committee. It is obvious that there was a concerted and calculated effort on the part of the powers that be to assist Nyonyo to usurp the Awoamefia stool. The usual refrain of Government that they are constitutionally barred to involve in matters of Chieftaincy is nothing but pretence and a ruse which is hollow and hypocritical. The Government is a very active participant and collaborator in the Anlo chieftaincy affair.


29. Is the directive by The Minister of Interior under the powers conferred on him under the Public Order Act amount to meddling in chieftaincy? The answer is emphatically NO. Again the question must be asked if this directive had been made when the Chiefs and elders petitioned the office of the President in 2005 would it amount to meddling in chieftaincy. Again the answer is an emphatic NO. Why not then but now?


30. Considering the complicity of high ranking government officials and party men, actions and omissions of the Government we have good reason to doubt the sincerity of the present directives. We cannot but conclude that we the Anlos have been offered a Trojan horse. The modus of operation of the police and military deployment attest to that.


31. In view of the current situation in Anlo we cannot but to conclude that the chieftaincy dispute is being used as a pretext to punish the people of Anlo and destroy our heritage for reasons we are unable to fathom. We the people of Anlo are discerning and intelligent enough to see through the ruse.


Questions for government to answer


32. We therefore want to ask government to provide answers to the following questions Ghanaians and the world at large.


32.1. Why has the Office of The President not intervene in the illegal use of the police by Nyonyo and his accomplices to intimidate them when the chiefs and other prominent Anlos petitioned him in 2005?( copy attached for ease of reference)


32.2. Can the various ministers of interior starting with Papa Owusu Ankomah. Albert Kan-Dappah and Kwamena Bartels and Attorney-General Joe Ghartey claim they are not in the know of the various case pending in the courts.


32.3. Who provides Nyonyo with security details that always escort him to Anloga for the past years?


32.4. What is Nyonyo,s position in this country that he must be provided by such a highly visible security detail which even ministers of state do not have?


32.5. Can Bartels cross his heart and swear that he has never been aware of Nyonyo’s activities most especially when there have been many intelligence and newspaper reports warning of an imminent bloodbath in Anloga if Nyonyo’s activities are not curtailed. Bartels, all must remember was the chief launcher/special guest at the launch of Nyonyo’s so-called Awoamefia Educational Trust Fund?


32.6. Who gave the permit to Nyonyo to go on with the installation since it is a public event and who authorized the deployment of soldiers and police in Anloga to protect this illegality?


32.7 These are legitimate questions that Ghanaians need answers for. We demand that the Government answer these questions satisfactorily to Ghanaians and stop using the death of the police officer, lies and misinformation in portraying Anlos as stupid and unintelligent blood sucking people to cover up for the failure of their diabolical plot. The government and the Police cannot be judges in their own cause. We call upon patriotic and truth loving Ghanaians to demand answers to these questions from our Government. We Anlos have answers to those questions. For the rest of Ghanaians we refer you to the letter of the Volta regional Police Commander Bernard Guyiri Dery( copy attached) published at page 14 of the Tuesday 4th November 2007 edition of the Chronicle. Our comments are not needed. The letter speaks for itself.


Who is Nyonyo

33. Ladies and gentlemen we are gathered here today because an impostor who goes by various names has with the active support of members of this government decided to impose himself on the Anlos, something that has never happened in Anlo.


34. For those who might not know who he is, he was born Seth Lumorvi Atitsogbui but later changed his name to Francis Nyonyo Agboada. (The Agboada family has subsequently disowned him through a statutory declaration which was twice published in the newspapers and as at today he has not challenged). Thus the man who calls himself Francis Nyonyo Agboada is not from the family he claims he is from but simply a fake and a fraud. He has also called himself Francis Osei Agboada and claims he has Ashanti roots as his grandfather is an Asante. That is the character that the NPP is giving military support to impose himself on Anlos.


35. Ladies and gentlemen, it might surprise you that this fake claims he attended some secondary schools especially Keta Secondary School and Atebubu Secondary schools but searches in those schools have proved that this man never attended those schools. But holding all kind of forged documents, he found his way into the Ghana Law School but had to withdraw because he did not have the basic entry requirements and could not cope with the standards needed in the law school. That is the man the NPP is trying very hard to impose on the brave people of Anlo as an Awoamefia. (Copies of his CV and copies of some background checks made on his claim are attached)


.


Our Demands from Government


36. We the Clan Heads and Chiefs of Anlo gathered here having stated clearly our position on the Nyonyo inspired and government executed war on Anlo we demand the following from the Government:


36.1. The immediate withdrawal of the military and police deployment from Anlo to enable the peace loving people to go about their economic activities which have been severely disrupted by the imposition of a so-called state of emergency which is a cover for government and its agents to allow Nyonyo and his hoodlums to continue to harass the citizens. This is also necessary for hundredsof youths who have fled the town in fear of the police victimizations and are now in hiding as refugees in their own country. This is the harvest season; the people should not be deprived of their livelihood.


36.2. The immediate release of all those illegally arrested and incarcerated in Ho in the dragnet operation of the police led by Nyonyo’s agents.


36.3. The immediate removal of the Regional Minister Kofi Dzamesi and the DCE Ahiabor who have shown an open bias for Nyonyo to continue his illegal activities


36.4 The immediate transfer of all policemen presently stationed in Anloga and Keta because they have shirked their professional duties and have blindly supported Nyonyo’s illegal activities.


36.5. The immediate transfer of the Volta regional police command and in particular the Regional Police Commander for selling his conscience to do the bidding of evil men and forces and then turn round to insult the intellect of Anlos. He needs be told that he may be as intelligent as Aristotle but since he has sold his conscience and integrity not even dogs would drink from his hands. On second thought, judging from the unintelligent effusions in his letter, the flawed logic, the extreme partisan position adopted, the wild allegations, threats etc and for exposing the diabolical plot of his paymasters he should be discharge dis- honourably from the Ghana Police Service. He is a grace to the Ghana Police Service


36.6. In view of the complicity of the police, the ministry of interior and inaction of the Office of The President, we want an independent and impartial judicial committee to be set up to investigate and provide answers to the legitimate questions raised above and the true facts of what precipitated the attacks on the youth of Anlo and the subsequent deaths.


Special Appeal to Anlos both at home and abroad.


37. We want to use this opportunity to express our condolence to the families who lost their lives and wish to state that our hearts go out to them as we stand with them in their hour of grief. At the appropriate time a befitting honour would be given to them as heroes of our Anlo. We assure the families of those who are still in detention that we would not sit down for them to be treated as common criminal for in truth they are innocent victims and heroes of Anlo.

38. We appeal to all Anlos both at home and abroad to remain calm but vigilant in defending the truth. We shall defend Anlo. However, we want to assure them that this war will not be fought by violent means but by truth which is what we stand on. Our founding fathers stood for the truth and Anlo is founded on truth and the truth will stand.


39. Our patience to a fault in spite of the incessant and persistent attack by evil men and forces should not be taken as stupidity or cowardice but it is a virtue that we require to tamper our courage, bravery and intelligence which we are known for as a people.


Our Condolences


40. We take the opportunity to extend our deepest sorrow and condolence to the wife, children and family of the police officer who lost his life in this reckless and misguided adventure on the orders of evil men using the poor men and women of the police who enlisted in the police service to protect law abiding Ghanaians and to irk a living. Our thoughts and prayers shall always be with you. We also sympathise with everybody including the patriotic youth of Anlo, our brothers and sisters who were enticed to be part of this misguided adventure and the policemen and women who suffered from various degrees of injury. We wish all of them a speedy recovery.


The Media


41. We will excuse some of the media houses for the partisan interest they took in this matter because they did not know the truth but the few who knew were simply bought with huge sums of money. Specifically we will mention the state-owned Daily Graphic and the role of the former editor Yaw Boadu Ayeboafoh, Timothy Gobah who against all professional ethics of journalism have always provided a one sided report to favour Francis Nyonyo whislt they persistently refused to carry stories and rejoinders of other interested parties.


42. We commend the Chronicle, Ghanaian Times, Joy FM, Radio Gold, City FM and other newspapers and newsmen who exhibited a high sense of professionalism and impartiality in their reportage. The people of Anlo are grateful to you. The people of Anlo say THANK YOU. We are forever indebted.


43. Finally, we appeal to you the gentlemen and women of the press that our legitimate cause in defending our custom and heritage should not be drawn into the usual NPP/NDC partisan politics. The same appeal goes to the political parties and the politicians.


Thank You.


Signed for Torgbui Agbesi


Commander In Chief of Anlo


Torgbui Gbojor


Commander of the Right Wing Of Anlo