Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, has reached out to the Minister for Foreign Affairs & Regional Integration, seeking urgent assistance in locating and securing the safe return of seven residents from Bawku, who have gone missing in Burkina Faso.
According to him, despite best efforts they have not been able to locate the men.
The missing individuals, Abdulai Bagare, Mumuni Seidu, Issaka Nyikabo, Abdul Kadir Salifu, Jebrilu Braimah, Bande Mamudu, and Bande Shaibu, went into Burkina Faso on October 13, 2023, to retrieve their cattle, which have been rounded up by the Burkina Faso military in a village called Kanyere in Bittu District.
He indicated that during the operation two men who herded the cattle died as a result of indiscriminate gunfire from the Burkina military.
He said, “Subsequently, announcements were made that the owners of the cattle should come and identify them so they could hand the cattle back to them. The Assembly Man for Kanyere, Adamah Bidigah, conveyed the message of the announcement across to the Ghana side.”
“The missing persons took a letter of introduction from the Municipal Chief Executive of Bawku Municipality to Bittu to claim the animals. The Assembly Member for Kanyere directed them to the location of the animals. The location was identified as Nohow, a village also in the Bittu District.”
According to him, the seven have since not been located and despite appeals to senior Ghanaian military personnel and former colleagues Burkina Faso Members of Parliament in the ECOWAS Parliament to look into the matter, all efforts have yielded no results.
Ayariga indicated that other cattle owners have claimed they saw the missing persons being questioned by the Burkina Faso Military on their way to Noaho.
“We are deeply concerned about the safety and well-being of our missing residents. We urge the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to activate diplomatic channels with Burkina Faso to ensure the safe return of these individuals,” he appealed.
