An assemblyman arrested by authorities over the distribution of toll revenue, has reportedly escaped from police custody with handcuffs still wrapped around his wrists.
The local lawmaker, Mr. Abubakari Mohammed who represents the Dalun electoral area in the Kumbungu district of the northern region, was arrested on complaints lodged with the police by some youth in his area.
The young men had earlier seized revenue collected from trucks carting sea sand from the Dalun area. They are demanding a 50% share of the revenue generated from the collection of the sea sand from the Dalun area council. And to back their demand, the youth cite local government Act 462 which mandates district assemblies to allocate 50% proceeds to the area council.
Mr. Mohammed told Zaa News that he pleaded with the youth to exercise patience while the assembly tried to resolve the issue but the youth insisted on carrying out their action because their previous effort of resolving the impasse through the assembly failed.
In a twist, three young persons were arrested by the police over the issue which started last week. The youth since last week hinted their intention to collect 3 Ghana cedis from tipper trucks drivers collecting sand in the Nawuni and other tributaries along the black Volta.
They held meetings with the outgoing district chief executive for Kumbungu, Alhaji Alhassan Musah, which ended inconclusively. The main actors in managing the finances of the assembly, the district coordinating director and the finance officers were not present.
The Monday pandemonium saw residents pelting stones at the police over what they described as unprovoked police action. The angry youth blocked the road preventing all trucks getting to the river site.
Describing the circumstances of his arrest, Mr Abubakari said he had a call from police that his presence was needed at the police station in the district capital, Kumbungu, to which he obliged.
On his way, he met a police vehicle with 3 young persons from Dalun which baffled him because there was no violence in the area when he left for Kumbungu.
The three are Alhassan Jagbodoo, member of Dalun ataya based association, Haruna Alhassan and Fuseini Mohammed, a unit committee member.
“I got to Dalun township and met my people very angry over the arrest and while I was calming down tempers, the police commander arrived with his men and ordered them to arrest me, ” he said. He said he heard the commander telling his men that he the assembly man was a criminal and therefore should be arrested. At this point, Mr. Mohammed said, he sensed danger and surrounded by armed police officers, he struggled with them and managed to escape still strapped in handcuffs.
The police, he said, fired warning shots in Dalun in their attempt to effect an arrest which angered the residents. A stray bullet he recounted hit a 12-year-old boy and he was rushed to the Kings Village Mission Medical Center at Bontanga for treatment.
The boy our sources tell us was referred to the Tamale Teaching Hospital for further treatment on Monday evening.Tension is said to be mounting in the Dalun Township over the arresta.
In light of current tensions, the chief of Dalun, Mahama Hamidu has since call for calm over the matter. Zaa News sources at Dalun says the chief together with the outgoing Convention People’s Party member of parliament, Mr. Amadu Moses Yahaya, have= managed to secure the release of the three young persons.
Zaa News efforts to get the Kumbungu district police commander yielded no positive results. We also made efforts to speak to the northern regional police public relations officer ASP Ebenezer Tetteh through but yet to get him his response on the matter.
Meanwhile, the assemblyman reportedly turned himself in at the northern regional police headquarters and had the handcuffs taken off. His statement was also taken by police pending further investigation into the matter.
