Yakubu II

He was named after his Great-grandfather, Yaa-Naa Yakubu I (1824–1849).

He was his father's eldest son and the only child of his mother.

He attended Yendi primary and middle schools and taught as a pupil teacher for several years.

Before he became Yaa Naa, he had already married three wives; shortly after his inauguration, they were sent to Zohi, a suburb of Yendi, where they were conferred with titles.

The first wife obtained the title Gbanzalun, the second wife became Katini, while the third one was given the title Sologu.

He was born in August 1945 in Sagnarigu, a suburb of Tamale in the Northern Region of Ghana.

Yaa Naa Yakubu II (1945–2002) was born in August 1945 at Sagnarigu, a suburb of Tamale in present-day Northern Ghana.

His father was Andani Zolikuɣuli, also a previous king of Dagbon who reigned from 1968 to 1969, and his mother was Faati Mahama, who hailed from Savelugu.

Yaa Naa Yakubu Andani II (1945–2002) was the King of Dagbon, the traditional kingdom of the Dagomba people in northern Ghana, from 31 May 1974 until his assassination on 27 March 2002.

Yakubu II was killed on 27 March 2002 at Yendi, the capital of the Kingdom of Dagbon, by unknown people when clashes broke out between the two feuding Gates of Dagbon Kingship.

For 600 years the Abudu and Andani clans, named after two sons of the ancient Dagbon king Ya Naa Yakubu I, cordially rotated control of the kingdom centred in Yendi, 530 km north of Accra, the capital of Ghana.

Minister of State, Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, announced his death on March 27, 2002.

News of his death and the gruesome manner in which it took place shook the entire country and has since affected the lives of Dagombas in Ghana and beyond in diverse ways especially with regard to their political affiliations.

Dagbon citizens who occupied prominent government positions were inescapably caught up in the dispute.

Some ministers and government appointees resigned under the heat of the dispute.

Aliu Mahama, then Vice President of Ghana, vehemently refused to comment on the matter.

Death of Yakubu II set a lot of Dagombas against the Government of John Agyekum Kufuor (incumbent 2002), further deepening the common asseveration that Dagombas are more generally sympathetic towards the National Democratic Congress than the New Patriotic Party.

Many Ghanaians accused the government of not supporting Yaa Naa Yakubu II enough and so made his assassination possible.

Former President Jerry John Rawlings is at the forefront of such accusations stating that he has evidence to support his claims and wishes to be given the platform to expose the contrivers of the assassinations.

Alex Segbefia, one time deputy Chief of Staff, said that the New Patriotic Party was to blame for the conflict.

John Agyekum Kufuor, then president of the country and leader of the New Patriotic Party, however, has always disassociated himself from such allegations.

By the time of his death in March 2002, Yaa Naa Yakubu II had 26 wives, and each of them was similarly conferred with titles in accordance with Dagomba tradition.

He was survived by 103 children including Kampakuya Naa Abdulai Yakubu Andani; his first son and caretaker king of Dagbon.

The perpetrators are believed to have been an assassination squad of Liberian mercenaries brought to Yendi to incapacitate the Yaa-Naa and his bodyguards, paving way for the local militia of Abudu Gate to finish him off.

Eyewitnesses say they numbered around 50 and were armed with sub-machine guns, rifles, and hand grenades.

On the day of the incident, all means of communication to Yendi were hijacked.

All thought the seizure of the Gbewaa Palace and attack on Yaa-Naa Yakubu II by the hired assassins and members of Abudu family took several hours to complete amidst firing of heavy artillery, incessant pleas made by the Yaa-Naa to a police station under 2 minutes walk away to come and contain the situation was declined.

Some occupants of the palace who managed escape to the station for protection were turned away by the police.

A number of such persons were assaulted by the police and handed over to the Abudus to be shot.

By way of calculated interferences in communication by means of electricity or telephone to the rest of the world, Yaa-Naa was left to his own fate.

It appears the king was designedly cordoned in his palace alongside his eminent chiefs and some members of his family and friends who were with him.

He was bombarded with firepower and grenades by the armed assassins till his bodyguards and brave young men in his household who swore to protect him were all taken out.

At that time, the mercenaries having completed their task, disappeared into thin air.

In spite of state of affairs, John Agyekum Kufuor was reelected on December 7, 2004, amazing votes in Yendi and Gushiegu parliamentary constituencies, which have strong representation of supporters of Abudu Royal Gate, whiles the rest of Dagbon and most of Northern Ghana voted overwhelmingly for the National Democratic Congress, snatching away some New Patriotic Party parliamentary seats in the process.

As of January 2014, a regent (installed on 21 April 2006) has acted as sovereign of the kingdom until 18 January 2019 when a new ruler is chosen to occupy the revered Lion Skins of Yendi (Yaan Naa Gariba II).

After three days of unrest and sporadic violence, Gbewaa Palace, the residence of the king together with thirty surrounding houses were burned down.

Thirty members of his household and other members of the community were killed and several others injured.

The king's body was dismembered and decapitated after he was killed and set on fire.

His head was paraded on a spear and parts of his body were paraded around town.

Nobody has been jailed in relation to the incidence (January 2014).