The Member of Parliament for the Bawku Central constituency, Mahama Ayariga, has petitioned the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to seek an update on the alleged killing of some 10 citizens by the military in a follow-up letter dated Monday, November 6, 2023.
According to him, he has seen copies of letters the office sent to the Ghana Armed Forces, but to date, there has been no response to the incident.
“I have seen copies of letters your office wrote to the Ghana Armed Forces to respond to my complaints. Since then, I have not heard anything about the matter. I will not accept any attempts by the military to avoid accountability for the killing of innocent people in Bawku.”
He expressed his displeasure with the two institutions for not showing sympathy to the people of Bawku.
“I therefore demand that you give the military dead time to respond to your inquiries. I also expected that CHRAJ would have the community speak to victims to gather evidence beyond whatever the Ghana Armed Forces would say in their response, but this has not happened.”
Personnel of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) were accused of killing some innocent people who were running for cover in Bawku during disturbances in February.
The military, in a statement on February 2, however, stated that they engaged a group of armed men and neutralised six of them.
Mr. Ayariga demanded a thorough investigation into the incident and requested GH¢500,000 compensation for the affected individuals.
Read Mahama Ayariga’s follow-up letter below:
6th November 2023
The Commissioner
Commission on Human Rights &
Administrative Justice (CHRAJ)
Accra – Ghana
Dear Commissioner,
FOLLOW UP ON COMPLAINT OF MAHAMA AYARIGA AGAINST GHANA ARMED FORCES ON THE MATTER OF KILLINGS IN BAWKU
I write to follow up on the complaint I made to your office demanding in investigation of killings and human rights violations by members of the Ghana Armed forces in the community of Zoogin in Bawku Municipality.
I have seen copies of letters your wrote to the military to respond to my complaints. Since then I have not heard anything in relation to the matter. I will not accept any attempt my the military to avoid accountability for the killings of innocent people in Bawku.
I therefore demand that you give the military a deadline to respond to your inquiries. I also expect that CHRAJ would have visited the community to speak to victims to gather evidence beyond whatever the Ghana Armed Forces will say in their response but this has not happened.
Please rest assured that the people of the Zoogin community will continue to demand justice for those who were unjustly killed by members of the Ghana Armed Forces in their community.
Thank you.
Mahama Ayariga MP
Bawku Central
