The parade, which was to be held at the Fadama Cluster of Schools, was cancelled last Tuesday, some hours before the beginning of the programme.

Some residents of the area, gripped by fear, stayed indoors in the early hours of yesterday, as they anticipated that there could be reprisal attacks.

That was because the members of the two youth groups had clashed at a spot near the Abeka public toilet and the market, which are a few metres away from the Fadama Cluster of Schools where the parade was scheduled to take place.

Attack

Briefing the Daily Graphic, the Public Relations Officer of the Accra Regional?Police Command, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mrs Afia Tenge, said the police received information that on March 4, 2019 a young man stabbed another young man near the Abeka public toilet following a scuffle between the two of them.

The scuffle is said to have been precipitated by some misunderstanding between the two over a shisha.
She said one of the young men, identified as Nuhu Yakubu, alias Not Nice, allegedly stabbed Mohamed Kamal

Tahiru, alias Bature, 34, in his collar bone and the left rib with a knife.
Some Good Samaritans took Tahiru to the Ridge Hospital, where he was admitted at the Intensive Care Unit but died about 2 a.m. on March 5, 2019.

Tahiru, said to be a motorbike trader at Caprice, near the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange, was buried later in the day, in accordance with Islamic tradition.

Yakubu, who is suspected to be an illegal drug pusher, is on the run.

Mrs Tenge said the police learnt that

violence,” President Akufo-Addo indicated.

Security

He called for public collaboration and support for the Ghana Police Service, saying: “The co-operation starts with giving respect to the police and encouraging them to earn the trust of the people by serving the public with dedication.”

President Akufo-Addo acknowledged the reforms in the Ghana Police Service (GPS) which had so far led to its own rules and regulations reviewed to reposition it to become a world-class service, capable of delivering planned, protective and peaceful services to meet the standards of international best practice.

He reaffirmed the government's resolve to retool the Police Service to effectively fight crime and protect lives and property.

“I congratulate the security agencies on their work and their readiness to put their lives on the line for the rest of us.

I urge them to continue to be professional at all times,” he said.

Peace in Dagbon

He said the commemoration of the 62nd Independence anniversary in Tamale was not only to underline the unity of Ghana but also express the appreciation of the nation for the peace and reconciliation that had begun in Dagbon since the enskinment of Yaa Naa Mahama Abukari II as the Overlord of Dagbon on January 25, 2019.

“After decades of being identified with unrest and disharmony, Dagbon has good reason to celebrate, and it is fitting that we use the opportunity of our independence anniversary to converge here and celebrate with them on the theme of peace and unity,” he said.

President Akufo-Addo, however, turned the spotlight on the chieftaincy institution in the country, saying: “When it works, our chiefs provide the cohesive link to our past and what defines us as a people.”

Chieftaincy must work, he said, because it was an embodiment of culture and the rock on which the people leant for support, including being the custodians of lands in many parts of the country.

Special Guest of Honour

The President of Niger, Mr Mahamadou Issoufou, who was the Special Guest of Honour, commended Ghana for being the first African country in West Africa and Africa to attain independence and was now a shining democracy on the African continent.

He congratulated the people of Ghana on upholding peace and stability, which he said was the envy of many countries in the sub-region.

He expressed his country’s desire to deepen the existing relationship between it and Ghana for the betterment of their citizens.