The Overlord of Mamprugu, Nayiri Tidugma Naa Bohugu Mahami Abdulai Sheriga, has rejected recommendations arising from the Bawku chieftaincy mediation led by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.
According to him, the process ended in a deadlock and produced no agreement between the parties.
In a statement dated December 17, 2025, issued a day after the Asantehene presented his report to the President John Dramani Mahama at the Jubilee House in Accra, the Nayiri challenged the conclusions.
The report suggested both sides had declared they were one people with no reason to continue hostilities and proposed measures for government action.
The Nayiri’s in his response stated: “I must state clearly and without reservation that the so-called report and recommendations do not reflect my engagements with Otumfuo, nor those of my duly constituted mediation team,” the Nayiri said. He rejected the report in full.
He added that the mediation “ended in a clear deadlock, with no consensus reached between the parties,” a position he said contradicted what was presented to the President.
At the centre of his objections is a claim that the report proposed the recall of Seidu Abagre, installed by the Mamprusi side as Bawku Naba, to Nalerigu for reassignment to another traditional role at the Nayiri’s palace, or that he remain in Bawku only as a private citizen.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II stated during the presentation that existing law, as affirmed by the Supreme Court, recognises Asigri Abugrago Azoka II as the lawful Bawku Naba and said the mediation report should bind all parties.
Experience Honest comfort
The Mamprugu Traditional Council raised procedural issues, saying no Terms of Reference were provided despite repeated requests. It also said parties were not invited to engage with or respond to conclusions said to have been reached.
“At no point were the parties invited to engage with, comment on, or respond to the conclusions said to have been reached,” the statement said. It added that deliberations took place without the knowledge, participation or consent of Mamprugu.
The Nayiri questioned whether mediation permits a mediator to reach determinations alone and call for their enforcement without first giving parties the chance to be heard on the reasoning and proposals behind such outcomes.
According to the statement, the Mamprugu side made concessions in good faith at Otumfuo’s request. It said President Mahama acknowledged those concessions during the process, but the Kusasi side rejected them outright without steps toward a middle position.
The Nayiri said the recommendations amount to a unilateral determination imposed without due process and in breach of the audi alteram partem principle and the rules of natural justice.
He accused the mediator of abandoning mediation and assuming an adjudicative role without jurisdiction, describing the recommendations as procedurally flawed, legally unsustainable and unacceptable to him and the Mamprugu people.
The statement said the Nayiri was concerned by indications that the government intended to issue a position within 24 hours based on the report.
He urged President Mahama to engage fully with all parties and the mediator before acting on what he described as a flawed document.
“Such an approach will not advance the peace we all seek,” he said, calling for a process he said respects history, the Constitution and the standing of all traditional authorities.
The Nayiri warned that no part of Mamprugu’s ancestral heritage would be ceded through what he described as an unjust process.
He said he felt betrayed and hurt by developments surrounding the mediation and added that he would not remain passive in the face of actions he believed were planned before the talks began.
While restating his desire for peace, he said peace must be founded on law, history, fairness and consent, rather than imposed outcomes or defective processes.
The Nayiri called on the media, the public and other stakeholders to exercise caution in describing ongoing efforts. He said peace, unity and justice continue to guide his engagement.
He said he would engage further with Otumfuo and the Government of Ghana, with a detailed statement to be issued later.
During the presentation of the report, President Mahama described Bawku’s location as strategically important because of its proximity to Burkina Faso, where armed groups are active. He said the conflict had affected the posting of teachers, doctors and national service personnel to the area.
The Bawku chieftaincy dispute, mainly between the Kusasis and Mamprusis over the right to occupy the Bawku skin, has led to recurring violence, loss of lives and security challenges in the Upper East Region.
The rejection of the mediation report points to continued difficulties in resolving the long-running dispute, with the Nayiri’s statement raising questions about the process and the conclusions drawn from it.
