The President of the Gonja Traditional Council, Yagbonwura Bii-Kunuto Jewu Soale I, has called on the two factions involved in the Lukula conflict to lay down their arms and embrace peace.

The two factions in the North Gonja District are from the Wasipe and Janga Traditional Councils in the Savannah and North East Regions.

The King, who said this in a press release in Damongo, said the two Kingdoms (Gonja and Mamprugu) have come a long way and cannot afford to destroy the decades of peaceful coexistence between them.

The King also appealed to the security agencies in the district to exercise restraint on the continued arrest of residents of Daboya but maintain peace and order.

Below is the full statement.

Meanwhile, the Tamale District Court on Monday granted bail to 21 suspects arrested in connection with the conflict at Lukula in the North Gonja District of the Savannah Region.

Mr Justice Amadu Issifu, who presided over the court, after listening to arguments from the defence counsel, granted the suspects bail of GH₵6,000 each with one surety to be justified.

The case has been adjourned to June 23, 2023.

The suspects were charged with four counts of conspiracy to riot with a weapon, rioting with weapon, conspiracy to cause unlawful damage and causing unlawful damage.

On Friday, June 2, Police arrested about 118 persons in connection with the conflict, which was believed to have stemmed from a land dispute between Gonjas and the Mamprusis at Lukula.

The suspects were taken to Tamale for screening, where 87 of them were released, and the rest put before the court.