COURT HEARS CASE OF ADUDU FAMILY (PAGE 3, JUNE 3, 2010)

THE KUMASI High Court has begun hearing a case in which the Abudu Royal Family of Dagbon is seeking an order of the court to compel the Andani Royal Family to abide by the road map to peace entered into in Kumasi.
When the case was called yesterday, the court, presided over by Mr Justice Kwame Ansu-Gyeabour, asked counsel for the plaintiffs, Nana Obiri Boahen, to file a written submission of his arguments before the next adjourned date on July 2, 2010.
The plaintiffs, the Kworli Gbang-Lana Mahama Mahama and the Banvum Lana, representing the Abudu Family, are seeking a declaration that both the Abudu and the Andani Royal families are bound by the terms and provisions of the road map to peace signed by the Committee of Eminent Chiefs and issued in Kumasi on March 30, 2006.
They are further seeking a declaration that having benefited from the reliance on the road map entered into between representatives of the Abudu and the Andani gates, the defendants are prevented in law from reneging on the decisions arrived at in the road map signed in Kumasi.
In their affidavit in support of the motion, the plaintiffs said on May 30, 2006, the then government of Ghana set up the Committee of Eminent Chiefs, chaired by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu, to reconcile the feuding Abudu and Andani Royal gates, under the auspices of the Ministry of the Interior.
The affidavit said representatives of the two families met several times before the eminent chiefs at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi, where each gate presented its side of the matter, supported with evidence.
According to the affidavit, the agreement entered into was reduced into writing and duly signed by representatives of the two families, the three eminent chiefs and the then Northern Regional Minister.
It said all the parties pledged to abide by the road map and encourage their supporters to continue to keep the peace.
“However, the Kpan Naa Bawah Mahamadu and the Kampa Kuya-Naa Abdulai (Regent of Dagbon), both from the Andani Family, have been selling land and appointing some chiefs, without due regard to the contents of the road map,” it contended.
It averred that the defendants’ acceptance and recognition of the contents of the road map could be confirmed by the fact that they applied the contents to perform the burial of Ya-Na Yakubu Andani II.
It said all attempts by the Abudus to get the Andanis to respect the road map had failed and prayed to the court to compel them to do so.