afrol News, 21 January - The Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is poised to conduct investigations into the circumstances surrounding the mysterious death of about 44 Ghanaian nationals along the coast of The Gambia in July 2005.

This decision was arrived at on the sidelines of the just ended 33rd summit of the regional grouping in the Burkinabé capital Ouagadougou. The sideline meeting, presided over by Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambas, President of the ECOWAS Commission, was attended by Foreign Ministers from Ghana and The Gambia, as well as forensic experts from the United Nations, ECOWAS, Ghana and The Gambia.

Ghana's Presidential Spokesman, Andrew Awuni, said the delegations from both Ghana and The Gambia have agreed that an incident involving Ghanaians had occurred in The Gambia. The two countries also agreed to investigate the matter in a bid to establish the veracity of the incident so that the issue could be resolved.

As such, it was agreed to establish a panel of investigators to reach to the bottom of the case. The panel included detective police officers from both countries.

The government of Ghana last week announced its decision to refer Gambian President Yahya Jammeh to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) over the murder of its nationals.

Ghana's Minister of Information and National Orientation, Oboshie Sai Cofie, who divulges the news to the press, reiterates the Kufuor government's firm resolve to bring closure to the dust surrounding the murder and disappearance of Ghanaians in The Gambia.

The incident has resulted to strained relations between Ghana and The Gambia. Ghanaian citizens have also intensified pressures on their government to do all it takes to adequately investigate the incident and take appropriate measures.

By S. Makalo in Accra

© afrol News

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