Bawku shooting:18 suspects arraigned
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18 out of the 22 persons arrested in connection with the recent disturbances in the Bawku Municipality, will be arraigned before court today.
The rest, according to the Upper East Regional Police Command, are minors.
Upper East Regional Police PRO, ASP Thomas Yao Agbanyo, told DAILY GUIDE in an interview that only 18 of the suspects who were arrested on Friday night were brought to the Regional Police Command in’Bolgatanga for further screening.
The arrest of the 22 suspects in Bawku on Friday, August 22, was the first since the disturbances started on Monday August 18, 2014, and it is expected to serve as a deterrent to others in the area.
Since last Monday, three deaths have reportedly been recorded in the Bawku area, but residents have insisted that the death toll is more than what the Police have reported.
It is not clear whether the latest incident has something to do with the long chieftaincy dispute between the Mamprusi and the Kusasi in the area.
There were reports of other sporadic gunshots in the town on Friday.
However police disclosed that the said shooting, which was done by an unidentified assailant in Sagabo, a suburb of the town, had no connection with the protracted Bawku conflict.
Twenty-year-old Hasmin Yakubu was shot dead and two others sustained gun wounds on that occasion, bringing the death toll to three.
Bawku Divisional Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Ebenezer Kwaku Asare, had earlier told Joy FM no arrest had been made.
C/Supt Kwaku Asare added that patrols had been intensified in the area to arrest the suspect.
About 200 soldiers have been deployed by the Ghana Armed Forces at Bawku to help restore calm to the volatile area and forestall further violence.
The Municipal Security Council is also considering imposing another curfew on the area if the violence continues. According to reports, the gunman’s attempt to attack other residents in the area was foiled by the prompt response of the Police.
In another development, two people were killed on Monday and several others injured in gun-fights at Patelmeh.
On Friday the Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, was in the area to sympathise with the bereaved families as well as the families of those who were still recovering.
The Bawku Divisional Police Command is said to have intensified its foot and vehicular patrols of the municipality to ensure that the disturbances are brought under control.
However some residents have said they continue to live in fear on daily basis.
[Credit: Daily Guide]