The Ministry of the Interior has imposed curfew on Bawku in the Upper East Region, effective Monday, October 28, 2024, from 6:00 pm to 6:00 am daily, following renewed and deadly clashes in the area.
This means curfew hours in the area have been revised from 10 pm-6 am, to 6pm-6 am, from now onwards.
The decision was reached during an emergency meeting of the National Security Council, chaired by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in response to escalating violence tied to a long-standing chieftaincy dispute in Bawku.
Tensions flared after the return of a rival chief, Alhaji Seidu Abagre, from exile, whose presence has intensified conflict in the region.
This latest unrest has tragically led to the loss of at least eight
lives, with several others injured in violent encounters, including an ambush on travellers.
In a statement released on Monday, the Ministry cited Abagre’s continued presence as a significant threat to public safety and peace in Bawku, necessitating the curfew.
The ministry further urged residents to comply fully with the directive and cooperate with security agencies working to restore order.
Security officials have been mobilised to enforce the curfew strictly, with the ministry warning that anyone found violating the curfew will face legal consequences.
The government’s efforts, according to the ministry, are aimed at securing stability in Bawku and preventing further escalation of violence.
THE renewed chieftaincy clash in Bawku, has left at least 20 people dead while many others suffered serious gunshot wounds.
Two were shot dead at their Zongo residence in the township, while eight met their untimely demise after assailants attacked them in the Bawku Township on Sunday.
Three young men, believed to be in their late 20s and early 30s, who were on board a mini vehicle, were accosted on the route close to the Bawku Technical Institute (Bawku Tech), and were shot dead instantly.
A reprisal attack from an angry youth resulted in seven persons losing their lives, bringing the death toll to 20 within three days in the recent Bawku chieftaincy violence.
An eyewitness disclosed to the Ghanaian Times that the bodies of persons who lost their lives had been taken by their families, and the injured had been taken to the Presbyterian Hospital in Bawku, Bolgatanga Regional hospital, and other health centres in and outside the conflict area.
Bawku has for the past four days come under intense violent attack after Alhaji Seidu Abagre, who was enskinned as the new Paramount Chief for Bawku by the King of the Mamprugu Traditional Area, Naa Bohagu Mahami
Abdulai Sherigah II, returned to Bawku with heavy military escort last Friday, after nearly two years of his enskinment.
All attempts to speak with the Commander of the Bawku Divisional Police Command, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Adamu Seidu, to comment on the reported number of persons whose lives have been lost in the ‘resurrected’ attacks, proved futile.
Residents are amplifying calls for the security to take measures to protect residents in the area, as some assailants mounted blocks on roads leading to the Bawku Township in an attempt to prevent vehicles from moving to-and-fro the area.
The Ghanaian Times picked intelligence that a news conference was being addressed at the palace of the Paramount Chief of Bawku, Zug-Ran Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II, on the impasse.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Police Service in a press statement sighted by the Ghanaian Times re-affirmed their commitment to restore calm in Bawku
BY TIMES REPORTER