A disputed chief of Yiidana and his son have been shot dead in the Gushegu Municipality of the Northern Region, reigniting a chieftaincy dispute that has persisted for nearly four years.

District Chief Executive Abdul Hafiz Adam said three gunmen attacked the chief’s family house at about midnight on Thursday.

“What happened was that yesterday, in the night, around 12:00 a.m., we had information that some gunmen had attacked the disputed chief of Yiidana. Three gunmen, as we are told, went to the house and shot him and his son. So, both of them have died, and we can confirm their deaths for now,” he said.

The killings are linked to a longstanding dispute over the authority to enskin a chief for Yiidana, involving the nearby Paboni community and the traditional authority of Zantali-Lana.

According to Mr Adam, the conflict began about four years ago when the Zantali-Lana moved to install a chief for Yiidana.

He said residents of Paboni objected and challenged the Zantali-Lana’s authority to carry out the enskinment.

The matter was subsequently referred to the Yaa Naa’s palace in Yendi.

“The Yaa Naa ruled that the Zantali-Lana had that authority to enskin a chief for that community,” Mr Adam said.

The ruling, however, did not end the dispute.

Earlier clashes between residents of Yiidana and Paboni resulted in the destruction of property. As part of efforts to resolve the matter, Yiidana was advised to seek compensation through the courts.

Tensions resurfaced after enskinment.

Mr Adam said the dispute resurfaced when the Zantali-Lana again sought to carry out the enskinment.

He said the chief with jurisdiction over Paboni later indicated that Yiidana did not fall under Paboni, effectively clearing the way for the Zantali-Lana to proceed.

Residents of Paboni reportedly attempted to disrupt the ceremony, but the enskinment went ahead.

Due to security concerns, however, the newly enskinned chief was initially made to live outside Yiidana.

About a month ago, the chief’s family informed local security authorities of plans to return him to the community.

Mr Adam said the Municipal Security Council asked the family to allow time for an assessment of the security situation.

“We, as MUSEC, requested that we should be given time to go into the matter and be able to establish that there will be enough security for the chief in the community before he relocates back to the community,” he said.

“But the family failed to listen to us. They insisted that they had already sent the chief to the Yiidana community.”

Mr Adam said local authorities eventually allowed the chief’s return on condition that peace was maintained.

That arrangement, he said, was shattered by Thursday night’s attack.

Security deployed as residents flee

Police and military personnel have since been deployed to Yiidana.

Mr Adam said he was awaiting the arrival of the Northern Regional Minister and the Regional Security Council from Tamale to assess the situation and determine the next steps.

He said the area was currently calm.

“Currently, the place is calm. There is no fighting, there is no gunshots,” he said.

The bodies of the chief and his son remain in the community pending decisions by MUSEC and REGSEC on burial arrangements.

Despite the calm, the killings have heightened tension in the area.

Mr Adam said many residents of Yiidana and surrounding communities had fled amid fears of possible retaliatory attacks.

He said there was “general suspicion out there that the two families may attack each other again,” prompting residents to leave their communities.