Oshiyie, A fishing community near Kokrobite in the Ga South Municipality of the Greater Accra Region, has been turned into a ‘war zone’ where unknown assailants occasionally fire gunshots to terrorise residents believed to belong to a feuding faction in a protracted conflict.
Information gathered by the DAILY HERITAGE has revealed that since January 10, 2017, the town has known no peace because some individuals in the area have vowed to destabilise the peace the community is enjoying.
A long-standing chieftaincy conflict between the Nii Afrade Annor family and Nii Akrasi family which resulted in the destruction of property in the entire town about 15 years ago has been rearing its head lately because the factions have failed to toe the line of peace.
The chieftaincy dispute between the two factions, Newland Nii Ansah representing the Akrasi Quarters and Nii Afrade Annor has resurrected again to the extent that people now move from house to house to identify their opponents and assault them.
It would be recalled that on January 10, 2017, the DAILY HERITAGE reported on its front page captioned “OSHIYIE SITS ON TIME BOMB, AS RESIDENTS FLEE TOWN OVER DEADLY ATTACKS,” where Mr Jacob Mensah Otabil from the Nii Afrade Annor faction sustained multiple cutlass and bottle wounds and bruises all over his body after escaping a deadly attack from some assailants.
The residents told the paper that after the deadly attack, the new Municipal Chief Executive for the area, Joseph Nyame Stephen brought the two factions together last Monday, June 5, 2017 where the factions resolved that none of them would celebrate Odadao, a festival celebrated annually to lift the ban on drumming and noisemaking to pave way for the Homowo Festival.
The resolution was to avert any clash between the two factions.
However, in an interview with the paper, a resident in the area said a day after the meeting, members of one of the factions, without provocation, fired gunshots throughout the night to create fear and panic in the area.
He said the group also attacked some people and inflicted cutlass wounds on them.
It took the presence of the police petrol team dispatched to the area to maintain law and order. The police arrested 17 people who were welding guns and other implements who were later sent to the Accra Central Police station.
Police source
Checks at the Regional Police Station confirmed that 17 people were arrested when the residents engaged in lawlessness.
The police said some of the victims who were assaulted have been given police hospital form to attend hospital, but some of them are yet to report back to the Police.
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