Former Deputy Interior Minister and MP for Builsa North, James Agalga, says the government had failed to anticipate the dire security consequences that was bound to arise in the face of attempts to arrest the Nayiri.

Armed soldiers deployed to Nalerigu to arrest the Nayiri clashed with the town’s youth on the night of February 19.

The attempt by the soldiers followed a warrant issued by a High Court in Bolgatanga for the arrest of the two traditional leaders for their involvement in the enskinment of a chief.

According to JoyNews correspondent, Eliasu Tanko, the military forces upon their arrival on Sunday night, however, could not carry out the arrest as they were met by the angry youth of the town.

However, following the incident the youth set up road blocks to prevent further incursions by the military.

Speaking on PM Express, James Agalga, says it appears the state was confused on how to handle the sensitive issue.

“Government was a little bit confused about how to proceed in the face of the enskinment that took place in Walewale. First of all, they failed to anticipate the very dire security consequences that were bound to arise in the face of any attempts to arrest the Nayiri in Nalerigu.

“I thought that as the managers of the country’s security they ought to have anticipated that an attempt to arrest the two in Nalerigu would create very serious problems for them,” he said.

He added that the state should have gathered intelligence on the ground before deciding whether to embark on such a risky undertaking or not.

According to him, following the incident, tempers in Nalerigu have flared, and there is a need to cool down the situation before it gets out of hand.

“My worry is that I don’t know what intelligence they got from Nalerigu and even in the North East region, because I had somebody who gave me firsthand account of what happened when the person tried to ply the highway between Bolga to Tamale, and he tells me the scene was very nasty and something very terrible could have happened.

“I don’t want to mention names, but this informant tells me that when the youth of the area mounted road blockades and intercepted him, some initially thought he was some other person. But when they realized that he wasn’t the person they were looking for, they told him in the face that he was very lucky. I am just wondering what would have happened if the youth had managed to intercept the very person they said they were looking for.

“And so I think that next time we need to be guided, some of these decisions we take must be informed by the intelligence we gather from the ground before we make such a move,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Mamprugu Traditional Council has demanded an unqualified apology from the government for “disrespecting their Kingdom.”