The current conflict in Bawku has taken a different dimension as the Bawku Municipal Assembly and the Binduri District Assembly offices has been allegedly locked up by group of unidentified youth.
Media reports has it that the group has resolved to open the assembly on condition that Alhaji Seidu Abagre is arrested.
“We can’t say for certain what sparked this action, but intelligence suggests that the youth group is behind the closure, insisting on Alhaji Seidu Abagre’s arrest as a condition for reopening the offices.
“So, when you go to the Bawku Municipal Assembly, the notice is written there that arrest Seidu Abagre or their next action is not going to be good. So that is what is happening now, and it is a similar thing that has happened at the Binduri District Assembly, which happens to be one of the district assemblies closest to the Bawku Municipal.
“So, they have also closed that facility. The things that were in front of the District Assembly, the DRIP vehicle and other vehicles, have been parked away… For now, it is getting volatile. Just this morning, there were exchanges of gunshots here and there. It has not been that cool since the return of the rival chief to Bawku,” a local journalist, Ibrahim Agode, is reported to have said.
The chieftaincy dispute in Bawku forced Seidu Abagre to leave town after an arrest warrant was issued over his controversial installation as the Chief of Bawku.
However, he returned on October 17, 2024, after a High Court overturned the warrant.
Since his return, clashes have resumed, with sporadic attacks and gunfire resulting in multiple deaths and significant property damage.
In response, the Ministry of the Interior recently imposed a daily 12-hour curfew in Bawku, restricting movement from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.