Brawl between military, prison officers at Bawku due to lack of trust – Bonaa

Security analyst Dr Adam Bonaa says the fight between military peacekeeping troops and officers of the Ghana Prison Service at Bawku in the Upper East Region could have been occasioned by the lack of trust among the security agencies in the region.

Multiple officers were injured during a recent confrontation between military peacekeeping troops and Ghana Prison Service personnel in Bawku.

The clash between the two security agencies happened close to the Bawku Naba Palace, where an inaugural ceremony was held to kick-start the 40th-anniversary celebration of the Zugrana on the Skin.

Commenting on the development on Starr Midday News, the security analyst disclosed that the tension between the security agencies started some weeks ago.

“The clash is due to a lack of trust. The reliable information I picked either last week or this week actually started with the police. I am reliably informed that the police accosted someone who had some firearms on their way to the police station. Some military officers accosted the suspect and police officers who were taking this person to the police station. The military said they didn’t trust the police.

“Eventually, it nearly became confrontational, and I was told a senior police officer was involved. But the military officers say they didn’t trust him. So they diverted the course and ended up somewhere. But the police used their de-escalation mechanism so that it didn’t get out of hand,” Dr. Bonaa narrated.

He continued: “I am told there has been some suspicion not just about the prisons but also among the security setup over there. There is some suspicion because, even though the Bawku conflict will have to do with chieftaincy, it is also ethnic. So there is that suspicion that some people support one side or the other.”