A 52-year-old caretaker chief of Kpali, a border town in the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District in the Northern Region, has allegedly been killed by Fulani herdsmen who attempted to cross the Black Volta into Cote d’Ivoire.
Coffie Adams, who was on the Ghana side of the river to enforce an order by the chief of the area to prevent people from crossing the river at night, was shot at by the herdsmen, killing him instantly, while one other person sustained injury.
The Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District Police Commander, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Mr Francis Numado, confirmed the incident to the Daily Graphic and said it happened around 12 midnight on Wednesday, June 8, 2016.
He said the Fulani herdsmen, who were five in number, requested the assistance of some men to cross the river in a canoe to the Cote d’Ivoire side.
ASP Numado said two of the herdsmen crossed the river and when the three left behind were about to board the canoe to cross, Adams, who was wielding a single-barrelled gun, came on the scene to stop them.
One of the herdsmen who had an AK 47 assault rifle allegedly shot at Adams, killing him instantly, and injuring another person in the process.
He stated that the men who were in charge of the canoe then jumped into the river and the three herdsmen paddled the canoe to the Cote d’Ivoire side and abandoned it there.
ASP Numado said no arrest had been made so far but the police were collaborating with some volunteers on both sides of the river to enable them to arrest the culprits.
Border
He told the Daily Graphic that the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District shared boundaries with Cote d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso, with the Ghana-Cote d’Ivoire side being separated by the Black Volta where the incident occurred.
He said the river had overflowed its banks and on Wednesday when the police visited the crime scene, people were stranded on the Ghana side, waiting for the canoe that was taken to the Cote d’Ivoire side to be returned for them to cross the river.
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