The former Attorney General and Special Prosecutor, Martin Alamisi Amidu, has accused the government of exploiting the ongoing Bawku conflict for electoral advantage as the December 2024 elections approach.

In a detailed article, he said, “The resurgence of the Bawku intractable fratricidal conflict in October 2024 as an instrument of partisan political election engineering to influence the electorate is the clearest example of the politicisation of intractable conflicts by incumbent governments any time elections are knocking at the door in Ghana.”

Amidu also criticized Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s management of the crisis during President Akufo-Addo’s absence, labeling the government’s response as lacking transparency and accountability.

He further noted that, even after the President’s return, the government has continued to remain “an eerie silence” on the issue.

According to Amidu, this lack of openness has exposed the public to the risk of being misinformed.

“The citizen must be apprised directly and transparently by the government on how many compatriots are dead and maimed in the intractable conflicts throughout the country during this election season to avoid speculation and the spreading of disinformation and misinformation”.Mr Amidu warned that “the devil finds work for the uninformed, disinformed, and misinformed.”

He further alleged that the conflict benefits partisan interests, stating, “The resurgence of the October 2024 Bawku fratricidal conflict is government-generated as a result of the deliberate creation of a failure of human security for political electioneering which benefits the partisan merchants of conflict.”

The former prosecutor recalled an incident in which a suspected arms shipment into Bawku led to an intense gunfight.

Amidu stated that the ambush and ensuing gunfire worsened local tensions and further diminished trust in the security forces. He ultimately held the government responsible for fueling the conflict.

“We the People delegated our sovereign power as citizens to the incumbent government…It is, therefore, imperative that the President and his Vice-President, the anointed successor, prove themselves…by transparently accounting to We the People for how they managed our security.”