Deputy Defence Minister, Kofi Amankwa-Manu, has assured that all the security agencies in Bawku are working with a concerted effort to restore peace to the town.
According to him, the Regional Security Council (REGSEC), made up of personnel of the National Investigation Bureau (NIB), Ghana Armed Forces and Ghana Police Service are collaborating to bring the situation under control.
“Trust me, all the security agencies are working together. There is collaboration amongst all the security agencies. So we have the NIB doing their part, the military doing their part and the Police also doing their part. So we must continue to deepen that,” he assured.
Mr. Amankwa-Manu gave the assurance during a discussion on JoyNews’ The Probe on Sunday.
The topic for discussion was, “Lingering Bawku crisis and alleged military killings.”
The Deputy Defence Minister however noted that to be able to put an end to the recurrent conflict in Bawku, the residents must be willing to collaborate with the security forces, “Intelligence is key and trust is also key. And then if we are able to do that and the people are able to sit together to discuss issues, I believe we can go somewhere with this.”
It would be recalled that ten residents of Bawku were allegedly killed by men believed to be military officers in Bawku on February 2.
However, the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) rejected the claims. According to GAF, the reportage is untrue and should be ignored.
A release issued and signed by GAF’s Director of Public Relations, chronicled several incidents of violent attacks in the area. It explained that the soldiers engaged a group of armed men and neutralised six of them.
The Regional Minister and Chairman of the Security Council, Stephen Yakubu described the incident as unfortunate.
“It is very sad that people have lost their lives, it is something that the Council wants to know what happened. But I also want to say that these troubles in Bawku are taking too long,” he said.
But Member of Parliament for the area, Mahama Ayariga, says he will seek justice for his constituents who were killed by the military. Despite the defence by the military, he stated in an interview on Newsfile on Saturday, that he will get to the root of the matter. He has petitioned the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice accordingly.
