Former President Jerry John Rawlings has been cited as a key player in any fresh investigations into the murder of Ya-Na Yakubu Andani II. After meeting chiefs from the Dagbon area on Thursday, President Atta Mills said efforts will be intensified to investigate, find and punish those who committed the heinous crime. According to a report carried by the Daily Dispatch newspaper, police officers charged to further investigate the Ya-Na murder case are likely to collaborate closely with former President Rawlings. He has over the years indicated that he has a fair idea of who the killers are. The paper quotes an unnamed senior police officer as saying that “given his security background and having been our president for more than 19 years, Rawlings knows what he’s talking about. We are sure he can be very helpful”. Another report carried by The Herald newspaper said the state has failed to find those who killed the overlord of Dagbon because it ignored a key witness in the case - former BNI Director, Ellis Owusu-Fordjour. According to the Herald, Mr. Owusu-Fordjour who resigned in the heat of the Dagbon crisis is privy to a lot of information on the murder. However, when Joy FM reached Kofi Adams, Special Aide to former President Rawlings, for comments on the newspapers’ reports, he said the state should decide who they would like to fall on for information that could lead to the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators. “He (Mr Rawlings) has indicated that the investigations that were done after the incident - Wuaku Commission investigation - was a sham and he feels strongly that they should have done [fresh] investigations,” Mr Adams said. He said he was not aware of any investigation or any intention to invite former President Rawlings on Ya-Na’s murder. Story by Joy News/Ghana