Bimbilla Chieftaincy Dispute Laid To Rest

The Judicial Committee of the National House of Chiefs yesterday put to rest the protracted chieftaincy dispute at Bimbilla in the Northern Region by declaring that the late Naa Andani Dasana Abdulai was the rightful occupant of the Bimbilla Skin. That was after the six-member committee, chaired by Torgbui Soglo Alo IV, unanimously dismissed an appeal by the late Naa Salifu Dawuni seeking a relief that Naa Abdulai was not the rightful occupant of the Bimbilla Skin. However, the two main protagonists in the 13-year litigation died before the final determination of the case. By the ruling, the son of the late Naa Abdulai, Nyeliboligun Naa Yakubu Andani Dasana, who was enskinned as the Regent after the burial of his father, following his assassination on June 19, 2014, takes charge of the throne as the chief. Background According to the facts of the case, Naa Abdulai was enskinned in April 2003 by six out of nine kingmakers, following the death of the then Bimbilla Naa, Abaraka Atta in 1999. However, three months after his enskinment, Naa Dawuni was also enskinned by one of the kingmakers called Jou Regent Osmanu Mohammed, who had stayed out during the enskinment of Naa Abdulai. The late Naa Dawuni took the matter to court, challenging the elegibility of Naa Abdulai, but unfortunately lost. The trial, up till yesterday�s ruling, had travelled under six different jurisdictions, including arbitration by the Overlord of the Mamprugu Traditional Area, before it was finally referred to the National House of Chiefs two years ago for final determination. Naa Dawuni, however, lost all. Sadly, while the case was at the penultimate stage at the National House of Chiefs in Kumasi, Naa Dawuni died on March 5, 2014, which was followed by the alleged assassination of Naa Abdulai on June 19, 2014. Counsel for the Dasanas, Mr Mohammed Alhassan, told the Daily Graphic after the ruling that �true justice has been served�, adding that it was a good case for the country�s jurisprudence. The victors in the case, all clad in smocks and smeared in powder, greeted the ruling with traditional drumming and dancing.