“I direct that the Minister of National Security brief the House urgently on the security situation in Bawku, with the assistance of the Ministers of Defence and the Interior,” he said.
The directive was issued after some Members of Parliament (MPs) on both sides of the House expressed concern about the current conflict in Bawku.
The MPs stated that in order to de-escalate the tension in the area, the three ministers must brief the House on the situation in order to help unravel the factors underlying the conflict and what immediate steps were required to de-escalate the tension.
The Majority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, and the Minority Chief Whip, Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, were among the MPs who expressed their concern and urged the Speaker to summon the three ministers to the House.
Patrick Yaw Boamah of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and Mr Alhassan Sayibu Suhuyini of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) are the MPs for Okaikwei Central and Tamale North, respectively.
The Minority Chief Whip raised the issue first on the floor, noting that photos emerging from the conflict were extremely disturbing, to the point where “our colleagues from the enclave are scared to be heard talking about it.”
Mr Muntaka stated that the House should be interested in summoning the three ministers to brief the House on the development due to the delicate nature of the conflict and its associated brutalities.
“Even if it is a closed-door session, the ministers of National Security, Defence, and the Interior must be summoned to appear before this House so that we can learn exactly what is going on.”
“I know the conflict has been ongoing for a long time, but the current events are not healthy for us,” he added.
Having the ministers brief the House, Mr Muntaka said, would help clear up allegations that some of the security personnel deployed to the area were members of factional groups.
“This will help to stop the escalation of violence and mayhem in Bawku,” he said.
Mr Boamah, for his part, stated that in January of this year, the Bawku Naba paid a courtesy call on the President, who assured the chief of the government’s support and the security required to protect the people of Bawku and its surroundings.
He also stated that, despite Bawku’s military presence, recent events in the area were not encouraging, particularly after the meeting between the President and the Bawku Naba.
“We need the ministers of National Security, Interior, and Defence to brief the House, especially after learning this morning that three soldiers were shot; this is extremely dangerous,” he said.
Mr Suhuyini stated that the tension in Bawku was a serious development, and that Parliament must lead efforts to resolve the conflict.
He claimed that citizens were complaining that soldiers stationed in the area to provide security had “become a threat to the security situation” at times.
“These soldiers go into homes and search, and when they find even a machete, they begin to harass the residents and, in some cases, make them pay money,” he claimed.
“This tells you that there is a cocktail of issues on which we need to be adequately briefed in order to see how we can contribute to reducing tension in that area,” he said.
Mr Annoh-Dompreh praised the Minister of the Interior, Mr Ambrose Dery, for intervening to reduce tensions in the area.
He did, however, agree that the Speaker should summon the three ministers to the House for a closed-door meeting to discuss ways to find a long-term solution to the situation.
“I support the call,” he said, “but we should proceed with caution and hold more closed-door briefings to strategically plan to contain the situation; it must be quick and immediate.”
