Seven Ghanaians are being held in Burkina Faso, we can't find them – Bawku Central MP

The Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, has disclosed that seven Ghanaians are being held in Burkina Faso by the Burkinabe army.

The MP, who made this disclosure in a petition to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, indicated that the Ghanaians being held are all residents of Bawku, and they include Abdulia Bagare, Mumuni Seidu, Issaka Nyikabo, Adbu Kadir Salifu, Jebrilu Braimah, Bande Mamudu and Bande Shaibu.

He said that all attempts to find them and facilitate their release have proven futile.

He, therefore, called on the foreign minister to help find their location as well as facilitate their release and return to Ghana.

“I hereby formally write to seek your assistance to locate and secure the release and return to Ghana of seven (7) residents of the communities of Bador and Tampinus in Bawku Municipality who are believed to have been arrested by the military authorities in Burkina Faso, and despite every effort, we have been unable to locate them and secure their return back to Ghana,” the MP wrote.

He explained that the Ghanaians were arrested in Burkina Faso when they went there to get their cattle on Friday, October 13, 2023, upon the invitation of the Assembly Member for Kanyere, a suburb of Mogande in the Bittu District of Burkina Faso.

He said that the Burkinabe army drove away the cattle of the Ghanaians after an incident that led to the army killing two Fulani herdsmen.

“The missing persons set off to the said location with the aim of identifying their cattle for retrieval. They were last seen standing with Burkina Faso military personnel on the road to Noaho village. Other cattle owners who were witnesses said they saw them standing with the Burkina Faso military personnel under circumstances that appeared as if they were being interrogated but were afraid to interfere, so they passed by. The seven missing people have since not been found.

“I have asked senior Ghanaian military personnel to look into the matter, but all efforts have yielded no results. I have also tried using former Burkina Faso Members of the ECOWAS Parliament, but there have not been any positive results. I therefore request the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration to activate diplomatic channels with the military authorities in Burkina Faso to locate and return the missing persons,” the MP wrote in the request, which was dated October 30, 2023.

Read the full petition below:

BAI/SEA

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