Chiefs of Aowin, have petitioned the seat of government, Jubilee House appealing to President Nana Akufo-Addo to remove the Western North Regional Minister, Richard Ebbah Obeng.
The Minister, according to the 16 Chiefs who have signed the petition, is partly to be blamed for the assassination attempts on the life of the Aowin Paramount Chief, Omanhene, Beyeeman Tano Kwaw Benbuin III.
The recent attack occurred at the Enchi Anyi Oyoko Royal Palace on November 6 and resulted in the death of four of the assailants.
“We would like to bring to your notice that it is alleged that the Western North Regional Minister, Hon. Richard Ebbah Obeng supports the perpetrators’ assaults on the Omanhene and his palace. The alleged involvement of the Western North Regional Minister, in the ongoing attack on the palace is now an open secret in Enchi.
It is hard to believe that the Regional Minister who is an indigene of Aowin and the Head of the Regional Security Council (REGSEC), to date has been silent and unconcerned about the unrest and insecurity in Enchi and Aowin in general.
“To confirm this, he has not even paid a visit to the palace nor has he even sent a sympathetic message to the Omanhene and the people of Aowin in spite of his numerous visits to Enchi. The chiefs and community leaders, which comprise former MPs and church leaders, are appalled by the actions and inactions of the Regional Minister, especially about his inexplicable silence despite the countless courtesy calls paid on him before and after the tragic incidents,” parts of the petition reads.
Based on this, the Chiefs want President Akufo-Addo to remove Hon. Richard EbbahObeng. According to the concerned chiefs, the threat on the life of the Omanhene under the guise of chieftaincy disputes is real but he has not received the protection that he requires.
“We are sending this petition to your office, Mr President, because we know you will ensure that security is maintained in Enchi in particular, and Aowin in general. We believe that the crimes of the perpetrators against the Omanhene and his family will be fully investigated and the law made to take its course. We also trust that the life of the Omanhene, his family and his chiefs will be given the necessary protection,” parts of the petition to the Presidency read.
The Chiefs in their appeal have called on President Akufo-Addo to investigate the inactive and odd behaviour of the Western North Regional Minister, Hon. Richard Obeng. They alleged that they see him as a Regional Minister who does not see Aowin as part of his jurisdiction and therefore does not work in the interest, development, and peace of the Aowin Municipality.
“Respectfully, we would like that all matters pertaining to the insecurity of Aowin Traditional Area occasioned by the various plots to murder the Omanhene of Aowin Traditional Area and all linked cases transferred to the National Police Headquarters for full and impartial investigation to be conducted and all the perpetrators brought to book irrespective of their political affiliations,” the petition concludes.
Below is the unedited text;
Petition: Immediate Request to Remove the Western North Regional Minister, Hon. Richard EbbahObeng We are bringing this petition to your notice, Your Excellency, about the assassination attempts and threats on the life of the Aowin Paramount Chief. There have been countless and constant plots and schemes against the Omanhene, BeyeemanTanoKwawBenbuin III, including assaults with offensive weapons. We have reported these offensive and criminal conducts to the police but have not had the requisite police action. The attack on the EnchiAnyiOyoko Royal Palace on the 6th day of November, 2022 which resulted in the death of four (4) of the assailants, now confirms the clandestine activities of the perpetrators. Since the installation of BeyeemanTanoKwawBenbuin III, there have been seven assassination attempts on his life, with the eighth one happening on 6th November 2022. What has been clear to us is that any threat on the lives of the Omanhene and his palace reported to the police is treated nonchalantly whilst any flimsy and baseless allegation against the Omanhene and his palace is immediately dealt with by the police. The threat on the life of the Omanhene under the guise of chieftaincy disputes is real but he has not received the protection that he requires. We are sending this petition to your office, Mr President, because we know you will ensure that security is maintained in Enchi in particular, and Aowin in general. We believe that the crimes of the perpetrators against the Omanhene and his family will be fully investigated and the law made to take its course. We also trust that the life of the Omanhene, his family and his chiefs will be given the necessary protection.
We now detail the various instances of criminal conducts against the Omanhene and his family, which have been reported but have seen no serious action; some of the complaints to the police have been completely ignored since 2019. 1. On 20th November, 2019, armed policemen stormed the Omanhene’s palace with some known supporters of the said Ellis Famieh Duncan (a staff at NADMO at Mpohor, Takoradi), all captured on Close Circuit Television (CCTV), and with machetes and other offensive weapons, drove out the elders of the palace who were mediating a matter. Under the full guidance and protection of the police, these hoodlums slaughtered a sheep to signify the destoolment of the Omanhene. Immediately, preprepared letters were circulated to the police and other institutions, including publications on the internet and elsewhere that the Omanhene had been destooled. Audios of this event were shared on various social media platforms. The police then made a façade of arresting these thugs and then released them.
2. Another one came on 21st December, 2019 when we thought we had seen it all. A group of criminals, later identified as land-guards, stormed the Omanhene’s palace (when he was about to come out to perform the three-weekly ritual), also captured on CCTV. Armed and led by Emmanuel Mussey (a brother of Ellis Famieh Duncan), these crooks had been brought to Enchi to abduct and assassinate the Omanhene. The treatment of this attempted murder by the police is farcical and leaves much to be desired. Since nothing has happened to the perpetrators and the brains behind them, they keep trying. Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry in its investigative report in December 2020 recommended that the Western North Regional Command should effect the arrest and persecution of both Bernard AmohAckaaMussy (brother of Ellis Famiah Duncan and lecture, Takoradi Technical University) and Ellis Famiah Duncan as being the masterminds behind the numerous attacks on the Omanhene.
3. In July 2021, Ellis Famieh Duncan, attended court at Enchi. After court, he and his supporters (the very people who have been attacking the life of the Omanhene and his palace) took to the streets in Enchi, claiming that the Magistrate’s court had declared him as the Paramount Chief of the Aowin Traditional Area. The disturbance of the peace ensued and there could have been bloodshed but for the intervention of the police. However, that matter has been stalled since it was transferred to the SefwiWiawso Regional Police Command. It appears that any criminal act against the Omanhene’s palace is transferred to the Sefwi-Wiawso Regional Police Command and then no action taken. We wonder why the police station in Enchi would transfer all crimes against the Omanhene and his palace to Sefwi-Wiawso? What does the police station serve in Enchi then?
4. We staged a peaceful demonstration which was covered by both the electronic and the print media. We also petitioned the Minister of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs about the immediate transfer of Mr. Ellijah Kwasi Asare, the then Registrar of the Aowin Traditional Council. Nonetheless, Nana Kwame Nkansah II, Odikro of Jomoro (also known as Mr Louis Yamoah) organised a televised press conference during whichhe cautioned that there would be mayhem if the registrar was not brought back to the Aowin Traditional Council. We expected the authorities to have done something about these unfortunate effusions, but to date, no action has been taken. The fallouts from this press conference are detailed below.
5. 27th September, 2022: A group of local thugs and some unknown others started shooting at the family home of the Omanhene. There had been extensive discussions held both at the Municipal Security Council level and then with the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Hon. Samuel Adu-Gyamfi and the Municipal Crime Officer about a structure which has been used as a base to attack the Omanhene and his palace since 2019. We had a hint of another such attack in the preparative stages and therefore requested for an urgent MUSEC meeting (copy of MUSEC minutes attached). Both at the family level and the security level, it had been agreed that the structure would be demolished on 27th September, 2022. On the same day, whilst we were waiting for the MCE and the Crime Officer to come and help us lock the structure up since it had not been removed, the assailants of the Omanhene who had congregated in the structure started shooting on the way to attack the Omanhene’s palace. They were bold enough to proclaim that no policeman was going to turn up per the information they had received from their paymasters. In simple terms, they were waiting for us. However, to our dismay, the MCE called back to say that the police had told him that they had been instructed by their Regional Police Commander that nobody should go and help the palace lock up the structure against what had been pre-agreed and that he (the MCE) was not in control of the police. Some more gunshots rang through and two women from the opposite family home (Charlotte Moses and Awanzi) run towards the Palace that the aggressors were shooting at them and the family home. They were indeed coming to and shooting in the direction of the palace. Meanwhile, the police ostensibly—under the evil guidance of the Regional Minister—refused to take a complaint from the Omanhene but rather served him with criminal summons a few days later. The Paramount Chief was made to appear before court at Bibiani, Western North Region, whilst his attackers escaped the law.
6. The worst happened on the 6th day of November, 2022, around 6am, when the attack on the Omanhene and his Palace resulted in the death of four (4) people. About twenty-two (22) assailants came holding guns, sticks and cutlasses firing at the palace in the absence of the Police Officers who had been on duty all night. . So far, eight (8) people linked to the palace have been arrested at the Palace of the Omanhene and have been remanded in police custody— some of whom were not even at the scene on the day of the incident.
Nonetheless, the main perpetrators i.e. Ellis Famieh Duncan, Bernard AmoakaMussey, Nana Nkansah (a.k.a Louis Yamoah) an supposed Odikro of Jomoro, Maximillian AcquayNortey, Manna Kofi Nzoleh, Kwaku Piece, J.W. Armoh, Daniel Iddrisu, AkuaSalli, Boakye, Enumba, JojoTekli, Atta Kasi (AgyataKofie), Asamoah, Kabaah Vanity, Cudjoe (Kerosine), Addo, Father, Elijah, J. B, EbbeKojo, AgyaWansena, KakuKyei, AkuaSandoka, Koah (a.k.a Sgt. Patrick AmeahSampa), Nana PayinKabanah (Abode), KabaahAzonto, KakuDonkor, Kofi Awanzi, Koomson (Adumline) and many more are all walking about freely.
7. We would like to bring to your notice that it is alleged that the Western North Regional Minister, Hon. Richard EbbahObeng, supports the perpetrators’ assaults on the Omanhene and his palace. The alleged involvement of the Western North Regional Minister, in the on-going attack on the palace is now an open secret in Enchi. It is hard to believe that the Regional Minister who is an indigene of Aowin and the Head of the Regional Security Council (REGSEC), to date has been silent and unconcerned about the unrest and insecurity in Enchi and Aowin in general.
To confirm this, he has not even paid a visit to the palace nor has he even sent a sympathetic message to the Omanhene and the people of Aowin in spite of his numerous visits to Enchi.
The chiefs and community leaders, which comprise former MPs and church leaders, are appalled by the actions and inactions of the Regional Minister, especially about his inexplicable silence despite the countless courtesy calls paid on him before and after the tragic incidents. We are reliably informed that Ellis Famieh Duncan, Mannah Kofi Nzoleh, Nana Kwame Nkansah II (a.k.a Louis Yamoah), Bernard AmoakaMussey, AcquayNortey and OpayinAyepaBullu who are the kingpins and the prime perpetrators of these incidents have been invited by the Regional Police Command, SefwiWiawso and granted bail after their statements have been taken on that same day.
All these matters were engineered by the Regional Minister, Hon. Richard EbbahObeng .On May 2022, we did a follow up about the matter of the stolen funds from the Aowin Traditional Council’s bank account undertaken by Nana Kwame Nkansah II, Nana KojoSekantia II and others including an injunction on the Aowin Traditional Council. We were however, invited to the Regional Police Command and were told that the Regional Minister had intervened and wanted to settle the disputes among Nananom.
Since then, no efforts have been made to deal with this matter. Again, the failure of Hon. Richard Obeng Rocky to mitigate in the following matters:
1. Aowin, Suaman-Dadieso and the SefwiWiawso Traditional land boundaries.
2. Aowin and Suaman-Dadieso boundary on the matter related to the stone quarry. He is purported to be benefiting from it. The unresolved issues related to the above have contributed to border conflicts between Aowin and the SefwiWiawso Traditional Area.
Conclusions
Considering the numerous attacks on the Omanhene and the palace, we would therefore like to appeal to your office to help launch a thorough investigation into the various assassination attacks on the Omanhene and the death of the four (4) people and also to provide adequate security for the protection of the life of the Omanhene.
We also appeal to you, Mr President, to investigate the inactive and odd behaviour of the Western North Regional Minister, Hon. Richard Obeng Rocky. We see him as a Regional Minister who does not see Aowin as part of his jurisdiction and therefore does not work in the interest, development and peace of the Aowin Municipality.
Respectfully, we would like that all matters pertaining to the insecurity of Aowin Traditional Area occasioned by the various plots to murder the Omanhene of Aowin Traditional Area and all linked cases transferred to the National Police Headquarters for full and impartial investigation to be conducted and all the perpetrators brought to book irrespective of their political affiliations.
