Residents of Nakpanduri in the Bunkpurugu/Yunyoo District of the Northern Region are expressing serious disappointment at the government and for that matter the Ghana Police Service for failing to relief or compensate the innocent households, individuals and other businesses who suffered the “unwarranted” Police brutality and destruction in the latter part of last year 2010.
According to the Chief of the area, Alhaji Abuba Nasimong the entire community and more especially the affected persons could never forgive or forget about the emotional, psychological and physical injury inflicted on them by the over 100 armed Police Personnel who invaded the Nakpanduri town at the directive of the Police High Command ostensibly to avenge the killing of two Police Officers and injuring of another by the Ghana’s most notorious criminal, Johnson Kombian.
The Police in their attempt to search for Johnson Kombian from his hideout in Nakpnaduri ended up causing serious blunder and exposing their professional incompetence by brutally assaulting innocent people including the young and the aged, women and children, burning about 21 houses and stores, a filling station, super markets, food crops and other valuable property.
Hundreds of people especially women and school children fled the area to seek refuge in the nearby districts with others running into the neighbouring Togo. When this reporter visited the Nakpanduri town last week, it was discovered that most of the people have started returning to the area after the arrest of Johnson Kombian by the Togolese Police.
The few others who did not flee the town were now rebuilding their structures. But they told Savannahnews that, the sudden and unannounced raiding of the town by the Police saw all their lifetime savings and other valuables burnt into complete ashes, and as a result, they were finding it very difficult to prepare new places for their traumatized families.
However, the Nakpanduri Chief, Alhaji Abuba Nasimong blamed the government for failing to see to the rehabilitation of the lives and property of the affected people, most of whom he said had had no blood or personal relationship with Kombian.
He said even though the new District Chief Executive, Philip Laari and the local NADMO officials had tried to support the victims with some food aid,- that arrangement he said could not sustain the people for even four days.
Chief Abuba who however expressed happiness about the arrest of Johnson Kombian, said the residents were now free to do their normal daily businesses and travelers from the area were also at ease now.
But he strongly cautioned the Police to firmly hold Kombian in their grip “because he is too slippery”.
According to him, there was no iota of truth in the earlier assertion by the Police that the Chief and people of Nakpanduri were shielding Kombian from being arrested. He said all indications pointed to the fact that the Police were not serious or ready to arrest Kombian, “because the guy was hiding in this area and we hinted the Police who have all the necessary weapons and are trained for that job on several occasions but what did they do? They rather closed down their office in Nakpanduri and vacated this place, and were thus expecting some of us who are ordinary civilians without arms to go into the bush and arrest Kombian and his gang”.
The Chief added that the youth of Nakpanduri once upon a time, mobilized and arrested Kombian and handed him over to the people, but they allowed him to escape, and they (residents) could therefore not be blamed for the atrocities Kombian had perpetrated.
The National President of the Bimoba Youth Association (BIYA), Mr. David Bin-Kotten Nibi who also visited the town with a 10 member Peace Mission team also added his voice to call by the Nakpanduri Chief and his people to get adequate compensation for the victims.
According to him, that was the only way the affected persons could regain their dignified lives and also deter the security personnel from repeating such dis-speakable blunder. Pix up is Chief Abuba Nasimong
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