The Bawku Naba, Zugraana Naba Asigri Abugurago Azoka II, has expressed his concern over the absence of peace in Bawku.

He lamented that the once peaceful and vibrant town has been devoid of peace for over two years, resulting in evident consequences.

These remarks were made during an interaction with former President John Dramani Mahama, who visited him on Saturday, February 3.

“Your Excellency, as we welcome you warmly to Kusaug, we have no doubt that you are aware of the unfortunate and needless conflict in Bawku that led to the loss of several of lives and property. For over two years now, peace has eluded our once peaceful and vibrant town with obvious consequences.

“We continue to look up to God, our ancestors, the government, and other important stakeholders to play their roles to restore peace to Bawku. We know that the truth will prevail,” he said.

Mr. Mahama assured the people that if he were to win the elections, peace would be restored in Bawku.

During his interaction, he recalled that Bawku was peaceful when the National Democratic Congress (NDC) was in power, attributing this to the implementation of effective security measures during that period.

The former president pledged a commitment to addressing the current challenges and restoring peace to the once tranquil town if given the opportunity to lead again.

He said “It is unfortunate that this has reared its ugly head again. The time we were in office we had virtually calmed things, Bawku was a thriving community again, and people were going about their business without fear of being harmed. Unfortunately, now you cannot roam freely in Bawku. Just recently I was reading that they had put a ban on motorcycles again in the evening and generally, it is a period of insecurity for the people living in that area. In the night buses are fired upon and people are killed.

“These are things that we are going to make a priority when we come into office, we have done it before, we will do it again, and we will work hard to resolve the Bawku crisis and bring peace back to Bawku and surrounding areas.”

He added “The second aspect of the insecurity is the armed robbery. Armed robbery has become a major problem here and it is affecting the economy of the Upper East region. You go to market, and you are coming back and armed robbers set on you, they rob the people. We are going to mount a very strong fight against armed robbery, because you cannot have economic progress in an environment of insecurity and so it is imperative that we make sure our region is safe and secure so people will go about their business without fear of being harmed or killed.”

Recently, unidentified gunmen opened fire on a group of people at the community center in Bawku on Wednesday, January 17, resulting in the tragic death of two individuals and injuring four others.

Mahama Ayariga, the lawmaker for the area, condemned the incident, describing it as both dastardly and unacceptable. He urged law enforcement agencies to take immediate action in apprehending and dealing with the perpetrators.

In response to the escalating situation, the Minister for the Interior, through Executive Instrument, extended the curfew hours imposed on Bawku Municipality and its environs in the Upper East Region from 8:00 pm to 5:00 am, effective Friday, January 12, 2024.

The government called on Chiefs, Elders, Opinion Leaders, Youth, and residents of the area to exercise restraint and employ non-violent means to address the challenges and work towards ensuring peace. Additionally, there is a complete ban on carrying arms, ammunition, or any offensive weapon in the specified communities, with a warning that individuals found in possession will be arrested and prosecuted.