Former Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu has accused the government of politicizing the Bawku conflict to sway voters ahead of the 2024 elections.
He claimed the conflict’s resurgence in October, under the supervision of Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia during the President’s absence, highlights the use of such crises for partisan gains.
Amidu further criticized the government’s lack of transparency and the continued silence on the issue even after the President’s return.
“The fact that Parliament has not been in session during the period of the resurgence of the conflict is not an excuse for the government to render the electorate mere spectators to what is happening in the conflict hotspots in Ghana, particularly in Bawku and its environ which has extended to affect communities in the North East and Northern Regions.
“The citizen must be apprised directly and transparently by the government on how many compatriots are dead and maimed in the intractable conflicts throughout the country during this election season to avoid speculation and the spreading of disinformation and misinformation”.
Martin Amidu
Amidu asserted that this is a constitutional right, not a privilege granted by governments, pointing out that, ignorance fuels misinformation and manipulation.
He further stated that on November 21, 2024, residents from both sides of the Bawku conflict reported enduring a terrible night of renewed fighting, despite a government-imposed curfew and the heavy presence of security forces.
Amidu alleged that this renewed fighting stemmed from mutual suspicions about the role of security agencies in managing the situation.
He reiterated the resurgence of the October 2024 Bawku conflict is a government-engineered failure of human security for political gains.
Amidu further stated that on November 20, 2024, security forces continued escorting vehicles in and out of Bawku during curfew hours without incident.
However, he revealed that reports emerged of a suspected red bus, allegedly carrying arms into Bawku, escorted by two armored vehicles—raising fears of election-related destabilization. “The Regional Minister had made these escort arrangements with the security agencies”.
He further stated that an ambush near the old Vegetable Oil Mills led to a gunfight, but the red bus reached Bawku Police Station with injured occupants.
According to Amidu, security forces cordoned the area the next day, but many youths fled, fearing brutality.
Amidu Laments Hardships in Bawku
Furthermore, Martin Amidu further criticized the hardships faced by non-combatant Bawku residents, including difficulties accessing cooking gas due to limited stations, forcing security forces to transport gas cylinders on their behalf.
He lamented the reported killing of a Yerongo resident near Maziamah on suspicion of scouting for an attack, while another individual managed to escape.
Amidu also expressed doubts about a circulating video of a woman, identifying as a Dagomba and civil society activist, encouraging women to vote for Dr. Bawumia for peace.
“The Upper East Minister appears to have abdicated his responsibilities since 20 October 2024 for maintaining the security of the Upper East Region to the Presidency in Accra which pursues its electoral agenda. Citizens from both sides of the conflict are maimed and killed without Ghanaians being told of the official numbers killed and maimed.
“Ghana has become the private property of political parties and their merchants of conflict political elites. The citizen has indeed become only a spectator even when he would soon be called upon to exercise his franchise. But the vehicles of heads of the security agencies were seen breathing towards the Regional Coordinating Council premises in Bolgatanga yesterday after the previous night’s, 20 November 2024, encounter in Bawku for a meeting”.
Martin Amidu
Accordingly, Amidu warned that the Regional Minister should be mindful that using armored vehicles to transport party supporters to Bolgatanga for political meetings fuels suspicions, even among security personnel in the conflict zone.
He lamented that Ghana’s 1992 Constitution has been reduced to a tool for influencing voters based on sentiment rather than merit.
He pointed out that integrity has been sidelined in politics, leaving social media as the primary source of information—true, false, or questionable. “In Bawku, both sides of the conflict use social media to bypass the information blackout, often sharing partisan or misleading content”.
Amidu lamented that while the people in the conflict area suffer and die from the preventable resurgence of violence, the political elite profit from it, using public funds for peace efforts and exploiting the situation for electoral gain.
He stressed that since citizens delegated their sovereign power to the current government in the 2020 elections, it is vital for the government to demonstrate leadership by transparently accounting for its management of security over the past eight years.
Amidu emphasized that this includes the ongoing Bawku crisis and other regional conflicts. “The rhetoric of development must be supported by the deed of maintaining the human security of the sovereign electorate in order to win the vote on 7 December 2024”.
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