Ya-Na's Trial Adjourned At The Request Of The Prosecution

The Accra Fast Track High Court hearing the Ya-Na murder case, on Wednesday, adjourned sitting to October 8, at the request of the prosecution. The postponement of the sitting follows the inability of the prosecution to bring its eighth witness to court. The prosecution said the postponement of the case would give it time to bring the witness from Tamale. Fourteen persons are on trial for their alleged involvement in the assassination of Ya-Na Yakubu Andani II, and 30 others, in March 2002. They have all pleaded not guilty to the charges of conspiracy to murder and murder. The accused persons are Mohammed Habib Tijani, former Yendi DCE, Iddrisu Iddi, 76, Alhaji Baba Iddrisu Abdulai, 54, Kwame Alhassan, 53, and Mohammadu Abdulai, 57. The others are Saibu Mohammed, 34, Alhassan Mohammed Briamah, 40, Alhassan Ibrahim, Mohammed Mustapha and Sani Moro. The rest are Yakubu Usifu, Ahmed Abukari, Abdul Razak Usifu and Alhassan Braimah. Zakaria Forest, the man alleged to have cut off the head and hands of the Ya-Na, is at large. The case of the prosecution is that in March 2002, the Ya-Na and some of his elders were killed following a clash between the two royal gates in Dagbon, the Abudus and Andanis. After the clash, Idrissu Gyamfo and Yidana Sugri were arrested and prosecuted for the alleged murder but they were acquitted and discharged. The Government in a fresh attempt to find the murderers conducted a dawn swoop at Yendi during which 41 persons were rounded up. After screening them in Bimbilla, 33 were granted self-recognisance bail while the rest were brought to Accra. Subsequently, others were also arrested and were arraigned.