The Upper East Regional Minister, Stephen Mahamudu Yakubu, has called on Chiefs in the Region to support the Regional Security Council to reduce the spate of armed robbery attacks.

He said armed robbery attacks was a major challenge that made residents live in fear, “Our key challenge right now is security, you ride your motorbike to town they snatch it, they steal our cattle, shoot and collect monies from people.

“These are important challenges that are facing our Region. Because of these, when officials are posted here, they don’t want to come.”

Mr Yakubu made the call at Nangodi, the Nabdam District capital when he called on the Paramount Chief of the Area, Naba Yelzoya Kosom Asaga II at his Palace to introduce himself to him and seek his support to manage the Region.

The Minister said Chiefs in the Region could help the security agencies to fight crime in their respective jurisdictions, adding that the perpetrators of crime lived in the communities, “Even if we bring thousands of Police officers to this Region without the right information from us, they will not be able to arrest these criminals.”

Mr Yakubu, who is the immediate past Ambassador to the Kingdom of Morocco, noted that without peace in the Region, road constructions, quality health care services among others could not be solved.

The Paramount Chief, Naba Asaga II described the security situation in the region as “very bad” and recalled a recent attack on the District NADMO officer which led to his death.

He appealed for police stations at Kongo, Pelungu and the upgrade of the Nangodi Police post to a District Police station, as the Nabdam District recorded most of the armed robbery attacks in the Region.

He said most of the robberies were done on the main Nabdam- Bawku road. “We have about three bad spots in Nabdam, we have Asonge, Zanlerigu-Damolgo area and the major one in the forest area.

“This is why the Police stations we requested for are important. One could be at Zanlerigu to cater for Zanlerigu and its environs for the safety of the people and also beef up security in the District.”

At the Sakote Traditional Area, in the same District, the Paramount Chief, Naba Sigri Bewong also expressed similar concerns on the security situation saying market women were often robbed on Pelungu market days, and appealed to the Minister to solve the attacks in the area.

Responding to the security situation in the Region, the Deputy Upper East Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Alex Amenyo, gave the assurance that they would work to ensure that armed robbery would be unattractive to perpetrators.

“The most important thing is that, in modern policing, we need the input of the people because we cannot do it alone”.

He said the current Ghanaian population was more than the number of Police officers in the country, “The standard should be 1:500, but currently, we have about 1:900 which is not good for us.”