The Member of Parliament for the Bawku Central constituency, Mahama Ayariga has expressed disappointment in the country’s security agencies over renewed clashes in Bawku.
This follows sporadic shootings in parts of the town following attempts to perform final funeral rites for a Chief who died about 41 years ago.
This resulted in a curfew being placed on the entire township and a ban on smock wearing. But this has not stopped the shootings, as one was reported at the beginning of this week.
Though there is heavy security presence in the community, the Member of Parliament believes the inability of security agencies to arrest known persons involved in the shootings is to account for the problem.
“I think that the security agencies have disappointed [us] a bit because many of the people fomenting the trouble have done so on social media and for quite a while now, the activities of people on social media have been known and steps were not taken to prevent those activities that have led to escalation. So I think that security agencies must be a bit more pre-emptive to be able to stop these things and avoid the situation that we find ourselves. But for today, the situation is calm.”
The recent clash that occurred at Bawku on Monday, December 27, 2021, led to the loss of lives and the destruction of property.
The government has on several occasions imposed a curfew on the Bawku township to calm tensions and maintain law and order.
For instance, there was a shooting incident on Tuesday, November 23, 2021, which led to the imposition of the curfew in the municipality.
At least five persons were arrested in Bawku over the disturbances in the area.
The Ministry of Interior has also asked the chiefs and the people of Bawku to exercise restraint.
Sector Minister, Ambrose Dery has thus asked them to use non-violent means in addressing their grievances.
“Government calls on the Chiefs, Elders, Opinion Leaders, Youth, and people of the area to exercise restraint in the face of the challenges confronting them as well as to use non-violent means to channel their energies into ensuring peace”, the Ministry said in a statement.
