TWO SHOT DEAD IN BAWKU ...Assailants unknown (D/G, Saturday, August 22, 2009. PAGE 3)

TWO people, one of them a fire officer of the Ghana National Fire Service, were last Thursday shot dead by unknown assailants in separate incidents at Bawku in the Upper East Region.
Two others were seriously wounded in the attacks.
The names of the deceased were given as Abdul Ganiru, aged 30, and Fire Officer DO II John Atubiga, and the injured were Razak Abdul Rahman, 60, and Ambia Fuseini, 15.
Briefing the Daily Graphic, the Deputy Upper East Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police, George Tuffuor, said at 8:20 p.m. on Thursday, unknown assailants, with no known motive, attacked and shot Ganiru, a storekeeper, at North Natinga, a suburb of Bawku.
He was shot from behind and the bullet penetrated the neck.
Mr Tuffuor said the deceased was rushed to the Bawku Presbyterian Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
He said a post-mortem had already been carried out and the body released to the family for burial in line with Islamic beliefs.
In the case of the fire officer, Mr Tuffour said the late DO II Atubiga sought permission to go out to buy food but on his way back to the office located in the same vicinity (North Natinga), he was ambushed and shot about five times.
Mr Tuffuor said the two injured persons were hit by what were believed to be stray bullets in the same neighbourhood by the unknown assailants.
He added that both were sent to the Bawku Presbyterian Hospital, where they are responding to treatment.
Mr Tuffour could not put a finger on what might have precipitated the latest round of attacks but said the police had mounted a search for the assailants and were also trying to unravel the reasons behind the attacks.
Meanwhile, the Minister of the Interior has renewed the curfew imposed on the Bawku municipality and Gushegu and their immediate environs for another week with effect from August 17, 2009.
The decision was based on the advice of the Upper East and Northern Regional Security Councils and by an Executive Instrument.
The curfew hours for the Bawku Municipality and Gushegu remain unchanged and are from midnight to 4 a.m. each day.
A statement issued by the Ministry of the Interior in Accra said the government would continue to commend the chiefs, elders, opinion leaders, citizenry and the various factions in the Bawku conflict for the sustained peace in their respective communities.
It assured all of the government’s commitment to protect all parties in the conflict, as well as work with the various factions towards finding a lasting peace.
The statement reminded the people in the Bawku Municipal Area, Zabugu, Binduri, Pusiga, Zoasi and Gushegu and their environs that there was a ban on them from carrying arms, ammunition or any offensive weapons, and any person found with any arms or ammunition would be arrested and prosecuted.
Meanwhile, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bawku Central, Mr Adamu Daramani Sakande, has appealed for calm following the death of two persons at Bawku, reports Mabel Aku Baneseh.
He also expressed his condolence to the bereaved families and appealed to the families to remain calm while the police conducted investigations into the deaths.
According to the MP, Ganiru was his (MP’s) avid supporter who accompanied him (MP) to court and prayed to God to give him (deceased) a peaceful rest.
Mr Sakande appealed to the security agencies to be firm and impartial while investigating the incident.
He said he appreciated the difficulties associated with their work and expressed the belief that they would surmount all challenges and let justice prevail.
He gave the assurance that he would continue to pursue the path of reconciliation and peace in the Bawku muncipality.