Dr. Abdul-Kabiru Tia Mahama, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Walewale Constituency, has questioned the rationale behind imposing a dusk-to-dawn curfew on the residents of Walewale and its surrounding areas.

Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Thursday, February 20, 2025, and in a subsequent media interview, the MP expressed concerns over the curfew, enacted by the Ministry of Interior, and reported brutalities against residents by security personnel in the area.

“I presented a statement on the imposition of the curfew in Walewale and the brutalities unleashed on residents by security personnel. This was necessitated by the fact that this is the first time in the country’s history that a curfew has been imposed on a community—or series of communities—where there is no internal conflict, i.e., factions are not fighting each other. It’s a novel situation we find ourselves in, and we needed to highlight it because people are not fighting in Walewale, yet there is a curfew. We must inform Parliament and urge them to take action or issue consequential directives,” he said.

“Additionally, we have reports of atrocities against residents by security personnel. I’ve received accounts of security personnel entering people’s homes, extorting money, and ordering residents to go inside and sleep. What happens within a household’s compound should not concern policemen or security personnel, yet they do this. Moreover, we have lost two people. Two residents have been killed by security personnel—one murdered through military brutality and another shot in the chest by police. All this happened in less than a week. The military is supposed to protect lives and property, so it’s deeply unfortunate to find them now taking lives and damaging property. We need to bring this to light,” he added.

The curfew in Walewale was enacted on February 15, 2025, following recommendations from the North East Regional Security Council in response to recent security incidents. These include suspected gun attacks along the Walewale-Bolgatanga Highway, which resulted in multiple deaths and vehicle burnings, some linked to the ongoing Bawku conflict.

However, according to the MP, the people of Walewale are unfairly being victimized.

“While I sympathize with, regret, and condemn the atrocities against travelers on the Walewale-Bolgatanga-Tamale route, I want to state clearly that the people of Walewale are victims, not culprits or perpetrators. If they are not the perpetrators, why punish them when they, too, are victims? I could also fall prey to these criminal activities. In my statement, I highlighted a pattern: whenever there’s an attack on the Bolgatanga-Bawku Road, there’s a corresponding attack on the Bolgatanga-Tamale-Walewale Road. We need a comprehensive approach to ensure lasting peace,” he stated.

Dr. Mahama reiterated several proposed solutions to address the security challenges in Walewale, questioning the curfew’s effectiveness.

“I argue that half the resources used to enforce the curfew could instead provide patrols for travelers. You don’t need a curfew. Here’s the irony I pointed out.o attack has ever occurred during curfew hours. So why impose a curfew to force people to sleep at night when the attacks happen in the daytime? I don’t see the reasoning behind it. Instead, they should provide patrols. I also propose that the police intelligence unit enhance surveillance and gather intelligence to apprehend culprits, as they do with armed robbery, because these are bandit-like activities. They should find ways to identify and arrest those responsible rather than just imposing a curfew. Imagine daytime armed robberies in Accra, would the solution be to put Accra under curfew? That wouldn’t make sense. My final suggestion was to engage the community more, so residents can volunteer information if they suspect anyone is involved,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Interior and the Minister of Defence are scheduled to appear before Parliament next week to brief the house on the situation in Walewale, Bawku, and surrounding areas, as well as the measures being undertaken by the state to address these issues.

GA/EK

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