Traditional ruler shot dead in Ghana

A local traditional ruler was shot dead in the western end of the capital city of Accra, the police said on Monday.

The Public Relation Officer (PRO) of the Accra Regional Police Command, Sgt Kwabena Danso, told Xinhua on telephone that the incident of Easter Sunday as a result of public disorder suspected to be related to a chieftaincy conflict in Ogblogo, a town about 30 km northwest of here.

"Six people, all men, have so far been arrested in connection with the unrest and are helping the police in their investigations while the body of the deceased, Nii Kwaku Obibini II, has been deposited at the Police Hospital Mortuary autopsy," Sgt Danso said.

There had been a protracted chieftaincy dispute in the area dominated by the indigenous Ga ethnic group.

Gas are the natives of Accra with their chiefs going by the title "Nii" and chieftaincy disputes usually arise after the demise of a traditional ruler when a successor is about to be chosen.

According to Sgt. Danso, the police received a report on Sunday evening about the public disorder at Ogblogo and the regional command quickly dispatched men to bring the situation under control, which they did successfully.

"However when calm was restored it was discovered that one person had died in the disturbance," he added.

The police had subsequently deployed more men in the community to forestall further clashes or reprisal.

It has been alleged that Nii Kwaku Obibini II had been banished from the community for several years by one of the factions to the chieftaincy dispute.

He was said to have secured a court ruling against the banishment and so was returning to the community on the orders of the court only to be resisted by a mob who allegedly killed him.

While some eye-witnesses said he might have been beaten to death by the mob, the police said they suspected he was shot dead.

Police investigations into the case were ongoing at the time of this report.