Jail Chiefs profiting from Bimbilla conflict – Irbard Ibrahim

All traditional leaders profiting from the recurrent Bimbilla conflict must be arrested, prosecuted and jailed as part of efforts towards ending the protracted chieftaincy violence in the Northern Region, security analyst Irbard Ibrahim has said.

His suggestion comes on the heels of Thursday’s renewed gun conflict in the area which led to the death of two people. The police service has confirmed that 17 people have so far been arrested in connection with the gunfire exchange. Eight people are currently in the hospital receiving treatment for injuries sustained.

Mr Ibrahim told Moro Awudu on Class91.3FM’s Executive Breakfast Show on Friday, 10 February that: “Somebody started this and someone should be arraigned before a competent court of jurisdiction and incarcerated.”

He said if Ghana continues to see the chieftaincy institution as “sacrosanct, impeccable,” and untouchable, then not much can be achieved in terms of restoring lasting peace to Bimbilla. “I believe we can’t leave this to traditional authorities,” he said, adding: “… I think the time has come for us to crack the whip.”

“This government should stamp its authority. Regents and chiefs that profit from this violence should be prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others that would want to see Bimbilla go down the path of violence every year,” he added.

In Mr Ibrahim’s view, “Ghana’s reaction to Bimbilla has been quite cosmetic”, saying there must be an end to the “vicious cycle of violence.”

Explaining why, in his view, the Bimbilla conflict has found no end, Mr Ibrahim said there are four royal gates in the area, and “all of these four gates belong to one particular genealogy, so, therefore, governments over time have been quite selective and picky with regards to which gate to protect and any time one gate has risen up in arms against another gate, the victim has found himself on the receiving end and the aggressor has had support from whichever party is in power, and, therefore, I believe we don’t only need logistics, reinforcements every now and then will give us an eerie lull just for the conflict to flare up later, so, therefore, I think we need a political will that is enduring, a political will that is comprehensive, a political will that is sincere to make sure anybody who perpetrates acts of violence will be duly prosecuted.”