The Bawku Central Member of Parliament, Honorable Mahama Ayariga Esq. has petitioned the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration to intervene in identifying and securing the release of seven Ghanaians who have been allegedly arrested by military authorities in Burkina Faso.

In a petition submitted to the Honorable Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorko Botchwey and copied to the Burkina Faso Ambassador to Ghana, the Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament and the Minister of National Security, the Bawku Central Legislator expressed the urgent need for the Foreign Affairs Ministry to intervene in the unfortunate development.

According to Mr Ayariga, his outfit has explored several options to locate and secure the seven men but unfortunately, all attempt has proven futile.

“I hereby formally write to seek your assistance to locate and secure the release and return to Ghana seven residents of the communities of Bador and Tampizua in Bawku Municipality who are believed to have been arrested by military authorities in Burkina Faso and despite every effort we have been unable to locate them and secure their return back to Ghana.
“The residents of Bawku include Abdulai Bagare, Mumuni Seidu, Issaku Nyikabo, Abdu Kadir Salifu, Jebrilu Braimah, Bande Mamudu, and Bande Shaibu. I have asked senior Ghanaian military personnel to look into the matter but all efforts have yielded no results. I have also tried using former Burkina Faso Members of the ECOWAS Parliament but there have not been any positive results”.
Honorable Mahama Ayariga Esq.

Bawku MP Narrates The Sequence Of Events Leading To The Missing Of Seven Constituents

Furthermore, Ghana’s representative to the ECOWAS Parliament indicated that even before the unfortunate development, Fulani herdsmen which graze cattle belonging to the missing individuals were attacked by some Burkinabe military personnel.

According to Mr Ayariga, the incident resulted in the death of two Fulani herdsmen while the rest ran away leaving the cattle.

He noted that following the announcement of the incident the seven missing individuals embarked on a journey to retrieve their cattle but were unfortunately captured by the military personnel.

Mr Ayariga recounted that the individuals crossed into Burkina Faso on October 13, 2023, and were assisted by the Assembly Member for Kanyere, a suburb of Mogande in Bittu District in Burkina Faso.

“Announcements were made subsequently for all cattle owners to come and identify their cattle so they could hand them back to them. The Assembly Man for Kanyare, Adamah Bidigah, conveyed the message of the announcement across to the Ghana side of the border. The missing persons upon hearing the announcement, took a letter of introduction from the Municipal Chief Executive of Bawku Municipality and took it along with them to Bittu to claim their animals.
“They were then directed by the Assembly Member of Kanyere to the location of the animals. The location was identified as Noaho, a village also in the Bittu District. They were last seen standing with the Burkina Faso military personnel on the road to Noaho village”.
Honorable Mahama Ayariga Esq.

According to Honorable Mahama Ayariga, other cattle owners who witnessed the incident have confirmed that they saw the missing individuals in the company of the Burkina Faso military personnel under circumstances that appeared as if they were being interrogated however, they were scared to interfere so they ‘passed by’.

He thus requested the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration to activate diplomatic channels with the military authorities in Burkina Faso to locate and return the missing persons.