<<Print>>

Members of the Northern Regional Communications Team of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) have unanimously announced a boycott of all media activities of the party indefinitely in solidarity with their incarcerated colleagues. This, according to the members, was in protest against the party�s lackadaisical handling of the case of the five convicted NPP supports, who they claimed were jailed unjustly. The party promised to appeal their sentence. They indicated that the time to file the appeal had long elapsed despite earlier promises that the appeal was going to be filed two days after the conviction of the five by a Tamale High Court. The communicators, over the weekend, threatened to stay off various media platforms, especially radio stations in the region until a concrete decision was arrived at regarding the matter. Meanwhile, polling station executives and some activists are also planning to boycott he constituency elections slated for December on the same grounds. But Ayikoi Otoo, a leading member of the party and a former Attorney General and Minister of Justice had appealed to the group to stay calm. It would be recalled that a Tamale High Court presided over by Justice Lawrence Mensah convicted Yahuza Yakubu, a known New Patriotic Party (NPP) activist in Tamale to death by hanging for the murder of one Rashid Mohammed in February 2009. His accomplices Majeed Alhassan, Habib Mohammed, Sayibu Alhassan and Imoro Gondanaa were also found guilty for conspiracy and convicted to 36 years in prison each. Habib Mohammed, the third accused was additionally given a 10-year jail term after he was found guilty for causing harm but the sentence would run concurrently, according to the judge. Communicators of the party in the region are however worried about the indifferent attitude of the legal representation in filing the appeal in other to secure freedom for the convicts.