'Find killers of Yaa Naa or no funeral rites' – Children insist

The children of the Yaa Naa Yakubu Andani II, the late Overlord of Dagbon says until the killers of their father are arrested and made to face the full rigours of the law, there cannot be any talk of performing the funeral rites of the late Yaa Naa.

They also revealed that they will resist any attempt by the government to oversee the performance of the funeral rites of Mahamadu Abdulai at the old Gbewa Palace.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo during a recent visit to the Northern Region appealed to the Overlord of the Mamprugu Traditional Area, Na Mahami Bohagu Sheriga to use his role as the first son of the late Naa Gbewa to ensure the funeral rites of both Naa Yakubu Andani II and Naa Mahamadu Abdulai are performed, and enskined a new Overlord Of Dagbon before the celebration of the 2017 Damba Festival in December.

As a result, a delegation led by the Minister of National Security Kan Dapaah visited the palace of the Kingmaker of Dagbon Kuga-Naa to among other things request that the Abudu Royal gate be allowed to perform the funeral of the late Mahamadu Abdulai at the old Gbewa Palace, the Andani gate said. But the children of the late Yaa Naa Yakubu Andani II say it’s against the customs and traditions of the Dagbon Kingdom.

They have also accused the NPP of shielding the killers of their father who was grisly murdered in 2003 under the then NPP administration. They reiterated that government should find them the killers or forget everything about performing the funerals.

The family at a press conference Wednesday intimated that the Kan Dapaah-led delegation did not only request that the funeral rites of late Mahamadu Abdulai be performed in the old Gbewa Palace but also revealed their preferred candidate for the Mion and Yendi Skins. “[We were] outraged by the provisions in the delegation’s programme which gives the Abudu Royal family permission to occupy the old Gbewa Palace in order to perform the funeral of Mahamadu Abdulai”.

This, they said, is “arrogance of the highest order and complete disrespect for the sensibilities of the Andani family, considering the circumstances that have led Dagbon to the current crisis which the Kan Dapaah Delegation is purportedly trying to solve”.

They therefore demanded that Kan Dapaah should “tell us who killed our father, Yaa Naa Yakubu Andani II and until these murderers are made to face the full rigours of the law, there can never be any talk of performing the funeral of our murdered father”.

The family sent a strong signal to government that the three days activities that characterised the death of their father in 2002 will not be allowed to happen in 2017. “The year 2017 will not be like the year 2002,” they warned.