An opinion leader and businessman in Bawku, Mr Alhassan Akudugu, has appealed to the government, through the Ministry of the Interior, to relax the revised curfew imposed on the Bawku Municipality and surrounding communities.
Speaking to The Ghanaian Times, Mr Akudugu said the curfew—currently running from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m.—was severely affecting residents socially and economically.
He noted that the revised curfew was introduced to ensure the safe evacuation of students from senior high and technical schools after gunmen stormed Bawku SHS and shot a student.
“Although the evacuation was completed successfully by security forces, the curfew remains in full force,” he lamented.
Mr Akudugu expressed concern over the impact of the 18- hour restriction, describing it as an “indirect brutal force” against the rights of law-abiding citizens.
“We now have only five working hours a day. How can businesses survive under such restrictions?” he asked, adding that “It’s badly affecting market activity and livelihoods.”
While he acknowledged the government’s intensified efforts to resolve the longstanding chieftaincy conflict in Bawku, he urged a balance between security measures and residents’ economic survival.
He appealed for a return to the previous curfew hours of 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m., especially now that the student evacuation had been completed.
Mr Akudugu also called on chiefs, assembly members, and youth leaders from both feuding factions to work towards peace, saying: “There is never a winner when violence erupts. It’s time we chose dialogue over bloodshed.”
FROM FRANCIS DABRE DABANG, BAWKU
