Binduri: NDC parliamentary candidate calls for calm amid insecurity

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate for the Binduri constituency in the Upper East Region, Issifu Mahmoud has called for calm amid what he described as a high incidence of insecurity and organised crime in the district.

There are reports of growing gun attacks in the area in recent times.

Issifu Mahmoud in a statement called on the state to put in pragmatic security measures to curtail the poor security situation bedeviling the area.

Some unknown gunmen are said to have raided the house of the National Democratic Congress' constituency chairman amidst sporadic gunshots.

Two middle-aged men were killed last week by armed men in the region.

The private legal practitioner is also calling on locals to be vigilant and assist law enforcers in their quest to combat crime.

Read the full press statement below:

Statement by the office of the NDC parliamentary candidate for Binduri Constituency on the state of insecurity in Binduri

As political leaders in the Binduri Constituency, we are alarmed by the high incidence of insecurity and organized crime in the Binduri Constituency. Lately, the epicenter of insecurity was the greater Masaka, particularly in Bazua township of the Binduri district, with the very latest being the attempted Murder of the NDC Constituency chairman Martin Ariku.

If the situation is not brought under control, it could spread to other parts of the constituency. It is reported that the criminals would, in advance, issue out anonymous threats via social media to their victims before viciously attacking them and, in some cases, killing them.

It was in this fashion that the Constituency Chairman’s residence was attacked by gunmen in the Bazua township on August 26, 2023, leading to the death of some people in the attack.

According to the Constitution (1992), of the Republic of Ghana, the State must protect its citizenry but the same is yet to be seen by the people of the Binduri District.

While we appreciate the little effort by the Police service and other sister security agencies for endeavoring to Play their constitutional role, we feel there is complacency in the way they discharge their duties.

The arrest of the suspects is often a belated and reactive response. There is no doubt that the attacks – and subsequent loss of lives- could have been pre-empted by the security apparatus if there was numerical strength and resources at their disposal to fight crime in the District.

We, therefore, call upon all the security agencies tasked with fighting crime to increase cooperation and information sharing between, and or among the general public.

We assert that the police and other security agencies involved in the fight against crime in the District discharge their duties professionally to gather as well as to extract information from suspects without unnecessarily violating their human rights by inflicting bodily harm and destruction of property.

At the same time, we wish to call upon the residents to be vigilant, and security-conscious and cooperate with security agencies to fight insecurity in the District. The government should also consider strengthening the number of security personnel with the necessary logistics to be visible in every part of the District.

Finally, we appeal to all residents to be law-abiding, preach peace and love in their respective congregations, and avoid abetting insecurity. We also appeal to the communities, as well as the leaders to avoid apportioning blame to one another or the other as being the one instigating insecurity.