The North East Regional Minister, Ibrahim Tia, has justified the imposition of a curfew in Walewale, citing escalating violence and the need to protect lives and property.
On February 15, the Ministry of Interior implemented a dusk-to-dawn curfew in Walewale and its surrounding areas in the North East Region following a wave of violent attacks and killings along the Bolgatanga-Tamale highway.
The directive, signed by Interior Minister Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, took effect on Saturday, February 15, 2025, and is enforced daily from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. The decision comes in response to a series of deadly assaults that have claimed at least nine lives, including that of a child.
Speaking on the matter in an interview on Eyewitness News on Citi FM on Monday February 17, Minister Tia detailed the steps taken by authorities to manage the crisis before resorting to the curfew.
“We were given the opportunity to manage the crisis on the ground, and we agreed that we could manage it. That was when we started the stakeholder engagement with the chiefs and the opinion leaders, thinking that it could give us positive results and minimise the skirmishes along the highway,” he explained.
The engagement process began on Tuesday and continued until Thursday. However, it soon became apparent that the efforts were not yielding the desired results.
“It appeared as if, as we started the engagement processes, it was not yielding results. We haven’t gotten to the root cause of the matter, and the skirmishes were still going on,” Minister Tia noted.
Emphasising the priority of safeguarding lives and property, he stated, “There was nothing that we could do but to go along with the curfew.”
Tia said the decision to impose the curfew followed a series of violent incidents. He noted that last Monday, three lives were lost in Bunkurugu. Subsequently, another incident occurred in Walewale town, where a bus was set ablaze, although no lives were lost. The third incident took place on the outskirts of Walewale, resulting in the death of a gentleman in the hospital, injuries to others, and the tragic death of a baby inside the burning bus.
Minister Tia also noted reports of other isolated deaths resulting from the ongoing skirmishes on the road.
Meanwhile, Walewale’s Member of Parliament, Dr Mahama Tiah Abdul-Kabiru, has strongly criticised the curfew, calling it ill-conceived and politically motivated.
Read also
