The leadership of the Darul Hadith Institute for Islamic Studies is urging the National Media Commission (NMC) to punish media houses flaming the Bawku conflict.
According to the Institute, the NMC must “up their regulatory mandate by applying appropriate sanctions to media houses that are used to incite violence in the area.”
The institute in a statement issued by Sheikh Anas Tawfiq Ibrahim Bakri, an Imam of the called on the Minister for Defense and Minister for the Interior, being sons of the North to do more in resolving the conflict in Bawku.
“The President has done it all by entrusting the security of the country into their hands, so there should be absolutely no justification for this conflict to continue in a relatively small area like Bawku.”
He stated that “And as a bustling economic hub of Northern Ghana, the situation further worsens the woes of the country’s dealing with the ravages of Covid-19 on the national economy. Sadly, Bawku is gradually becoming a ghost town; the people are becoming refugees in their own country – It is becoming a symbol of hopelessness, atrocities and confusion.”
Imam Tawfiq Ibrahim added that “The conflict has since compromised the security of the country and continue to taint the good image Ghana has made on the international stage as a citadel of peace in a sub-region otherwise characterized by civil war, rebel activities and general instability.”
The Darul Hadith Institute statement further indicated “Indeed, the poison of war in Bawku is infecting our dear country by jeopardizing thousands of lives, turning people against each other, pitting communities against communities, eroding security and well-being, and reversing development. The situation is robbing the people of their rights and dignity. It is inflaming inequality and pushing our shared goals farther”.