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Minister of the Interior, Mr Mark Woyongo, has called on the two gates in the Bunkpurugu traditional area to use dialogue to resolve their aged-long chieftaincy dispute instead of resorting to arms.

He said the use of arms to resolve the conflict would rather escalate the issue and drive away investors from the area.

Mr Woyongo made the call when he met with the two gates in the chieftaincy dispute at Bunkpurugu, the Jamong and Jafouk, at their various palaces at Bunkpurugu in the Northern Region last Tuesday.

The chieftaincy clashes in the area between the two Bimoba ethnic groups claimed two lives and resulted in the burning down of several houses a fortnight ago.

Mr Woyongo urged the security personnel deployed in the area to focus on their duty to maintain peace and not to antagonise the inhabitants.

Guns for cash

He urged the inhabitants in possession of guns to hand them over in exchange for cash.

“If you know you have any weapon on you secretly put it somewhere for the police to pick it or else anyone found in possession of a gun would be dealt with drastically,” he warned.

Mr Woyongo admonished the people to use the money for guns to invest in their children’s education to ensure a better future for them, adding that the development of the community would depend on the kind of training that would be given to the younger generation.

The minister promised the security that a patrol vehicle would be provided them to aid their task of ensuring peace and sanity in the area.

Efforts to apprehend perpetrators

The Northern Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Ken Yeboah, for his part said investigations were ongoing and urged the public to co-operate with the security by providing information that would help to apprehend the offenders.

The Paramount Chief of the Bimoba Traditional Area, Alhaji Abuba Nasinmong, commended the security for their efforts to ensure peace in the area, saying the presence of the security had restored calm to the area.

He pledged that the traditional leaders and residents would collaborate with the security to investigate the cause of the conflicts to address them.