A national security operative, Fatawu Nambe, and four civilians have been killed in renewed clashes in Bawku Municipality of the Upper East Region.
One of the civilians was decapitated in the incident that took place at Zanga, near Patelmi, both suburbs of the municipality, on Wednesday.
An eyewitness told The Ghanaian Times that Nambe was invited to rescue some people, who had been held captive by some assailants, and their houses set ablaze.
“Before the military and police arrived at the scene, the criminals had already absconded after killing the security operative and the four civilians who had been held captive. None of the victims survived it,” the source indicated.
The Bawku Divisional Police Commander, Chief Superintendent (Chief Supt) Adamu Seidu, confirmed the incident to the Ghanaian Times, but not the number of people who died in the Wednesday incident.
“Honestly speaking, I don’t know the number of deaths because I didn’t see any dead bodies. I went round the area (the crime scene) but I did not see a single dead body.
“No single dead body was reported to the police or the military. I was patrolling the area with the Army Captain, and we never saw blood,” he said.
According to Chief Supt Seidu, the security situation in Bawku was being closely monitored by a joint military/police force, to track and arrest the alleged killers.
He said people who supposedly played roles in atrocities in the area were on the police wanted list, and efforts were being fast-tracked to arrest the culprits.
Meanwhile, a private legal practitioner, Mohammed Tahiru Nambe, an uncle of the security operative, in a telephone interview with the Ghanaian Times on Thursday, said the death of his nephew was shocking, and asked the police to scale up investigations and arrest perpetrators.
“Yes, he is my nephew, and was murdered yesterday. May Allah bring peace to Bawku,” the uncle said.
Meanwhile, the bodies of the national security operative and the four civilians, who have been identified by their families, had already been buried in accordance with Islamic tradition.
Recently, Bawku municipality has been in the news for conflicts and killings of innocent people by unknown assailants.
Last week, Osman Awudu, 45, was shot dead, in Bawku, in an incident which, according to police source, could be linked to chieftaincy dispute in the area.
The shooting occurred when the Upper East Regional Minister, Stephen Yakubu, and Regional Security Council (REGSEC) members were at a meeting with opinion leaders of factions in the conflict involving Kusasis and Mamprusis, to find solution to the problem
FROM FRANCIS DABRE DABANG, BAWKU
