BAWKU NEEDS PEACE ...Chiefs, opinion leaders told (Back Page)

Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Bawku

The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Alhassan Samari, and the General Officer Commanding the Northern Command of the Ghana Armed Forces, Brigadier-General Joseph Adinkrah, have reminded chiefs and opinion leaders in the Bawku Municipality that they have a crucial role to play in the attainment of peace in the area.
They have also called on journalists both within and outside the region to discharge their duties with a high sense of professionalism and refrain from doing anything that would derail efforts at attaining peace in the area.
Mr Samari and Brigadier General Adinkrah gave the advice at Bawku last Thursday after a tour of the area to assess the security situation on the ground after last Wednesday’s violence in the area.
The regional minister pointed out that without peace, there could be no development, adding that since the conflict erupted in the area, development efforts in the whole region had been hampered.
“I will, therefore, appeal to everybody to lay down his or her arms so that we can all sit down to dialogue,” he said.
He said as part of a peace process, a meeting involving all the stakeholders in the conflict would be held at Bolgatanga on Monday.
Mr Samari urged the military and police personnel on the ground to remain united and gave the assurance that the Regional Co-ordinating Council would do all it could to address their needs.
For his part, Brigadier Adinkrah asked the chiefs and opinion leaders to “give hope to the youth by ensuring that there is always peace on the ground”.
Shifting his attention to the role of the security agencies in the maintenance of peace in Bawku, Brigadier-General Adinkrah said the military and the police were playing a neutral role and that no one should “try to knock our heads”.
“We are committed to ensuring that peace returns to Bawku,” he added.
Capt. Victor Abbey, Officer Commanding ABF Bawku Detachment, who briefed the delegation, denied that three people died in the latest fighting which broke out on Wednesday.
He urged the media to always cross-check their facts with the appropriate authorities, adding that a media pool had been opened in Bawku from where information on the conflict could be assessed.
According to Captain Abbey, life was gradually returning to normal in Bawku until last week when some incidents happened, which triggered off the violence.
He mentioned the seizure of motorbikes, assault and murders as some of the incidents that were threatening the peace in the area. He, however, indicated that the security agencies had assumed full control of the situation.
He said since the recent violence, six persons had been arrested by the joint military and police patrols and handed over to the police.
The Bawku Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Abdulai Abanga; the Upper East Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police Ofosu Mensah Gyeabour; and the NPP parliamentary candidate for Bawku Central, Mr Adamu Daramani, were all present at the meeting.