Flogging Chief in court

The chief of Nakpanzoo, Abdul Rahman, has been issued with a criminal summons by a Tamale district magistrate court, presided over by Augustine Essah, to appear before it on March 25, 2015.

He is facing charges of assault and causing harm for allegedly flogging the head teacher of the Lamasheugu Methodist Primary School, Adam Abudu, publicly.

The chief was reported to have gone to the school in the company of some heavily-built thugs to beat up the head teacher for turning down an invitation to appear before him (chief) at the Nakpanzoo palace.

Chief Abdul Rahman it was gathered, was demanding preferential treatment in the payment of Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) levy which had been unanimously agreed upon by parents at the last PTA meeting.

He therefore, summoned the headteacher to his place to compel him to reduce the levy so that he could pay or a number of his wards at the school.

Mr Adam Abudu purportedly did not honour the invitation, indicating that the issue at hand was purely an administrative one and that the levy in question had been duly agreed upon by parents who attended the last PTA meeting.

Feeling insulted over the conduct of Adam Abudu, the chief allegedly massed up his guards and stormed the school where he reportedly whipped the head teacher severely with the assistance of his guards.

When he was finally done, he told the other teachers that it was to serve as a deterrent to them not to dare show gross disrespect to him, should they be summoned before him at the palace.

The matter was later reported to the Tamale police who invited the chief for interrogation, but midway, he abandoned the process and returned to the school to threaten the head teacher with more beatings in the coming days.

Northern Regional Police Public Relations Officer (PRO), ASP Ebenezer Tetteh, who earlier confirmed the incident to DAILY GUIDE, disclosed that criminal summons had been issued by the court for the arrest of the chief since his conduct smacks of criminality.

Teachers of the Methodist Primary, however, maintained that their safety could not be guaranteed in view of the conduct of the chief and his subjects and had called for police protection.

ASP Tetteh told DAILY GUIDE that the police administration was seriously looking into the concerns of the teachers to ensure that they go about their duty without challenges.