In a remarkable display of professionalism and leadership, the High Court in Accra has commended the Deputy Attorney General, Dr. Justice Srem-Sai, and the lawyers of Alhaji Seidu Abagre, led by Martin Kpebu, for their exceptional handling of the high-profile Bawku Case.
As the presiding judge, Justice Halimah El-Alawa Abdul-Basit, granted Alhaji Seidu Abagre, also known as Naa Sheriga, bail on February 9, 2026, she took a moment to acknowledge the remarkable cooperation and dedication exhibited by both parties.
“I must commend the two of you (parties) for your cooperation,” Justice Halimah El-Alawa Abdul-Basit she said, for the professionalism and the peacefulness of the process.
The case, which has been a source of tension in the Bawku community, had sparked concerns whenever it was scheduled to come up in court.
However, the leadership and professionalism demonstrated by the Deputy Attorney General and the defense team have been instrumental in minimizing the tension and ensuring a smooth trial.
Justice Abdul-Basit noted that the parties had shown exceptional leadership and cooperation, which had not gone unnoticed by the court.
Alhaji Seidu Abagre, who has been charged with holding himself out as a Chief without qualification, has been instructed by the court not to do so.
As part of his bail conditions, the court has barred him from traveling outside Accra until further notice. Additionally, the court has ordered that Alhaji Seidu Abagre be provided with adequate medical care and security.
The court’s commendation is a testament to the importance of the role that lawyers and prosecutors play in ensuring that justice is served, even in the most sensitive and high-profile cases.
By putting the interests of justice and peace above personal and partisan interests, the Deputy Attorney General and the defense team have set a shining example for others to follow.
Alhaji Abagre, popularly known as Naa Sheriga has been charged for Acting as a chief without qualification, provocation of riot, offensive conduct conducive to breaches of the peace and fighting with weapons.
She has pleaded not guilty.
Brief facts
The brief facts of the case, as presented to the Court by the Deputy Attorney-General, Dr. Justice Srem-Sai, were that the Accused Person, 78 years old, a retired teacher, is a native of Bawku.
He said Bawku is located in the north-easternmost corner of the country and is the capital of the Bawku Municipality in the Upper East Region.
According to him, it is very close to the country’s borders with Togo and Burkina Faso. This has made it a major commercial town for over a century.
The Deputy Attorney-General said Bawku has two main ethnic groups – the Kusasi people and the Mamprusi people.
Long-standing conflict
According to him, there has been a long-standing conflict between the two people – the Kusasi-Mamprusi conflict. At the core of this conflict is the claim to the Naba, the chief and overlord of Bawku.
He said in 1957, the Governor-General of the Colonial Government established the Opoku-Afari Committee and mandated it to inquire into the claims for the chieftaincy of Bawku.
The report found that the Kusasi people are the rightful claimants to the Naba. In the following year, the Court of Appeal upheld the claim of ABUGRAGO AZOKA I (a Kusasi) to the Bawku Naba.
The National Liberation Council would, by Section 3 of the Chieftaincy (Amendment) Decree, 1966 (N.L.C.D. 112), withdraw recognition for ABUGRAGO AZOKA I, thereby allowing the Mamprusi people to claim the Bawku Naba.
In 1983, however, the Chieftaincy (Restoration of Status of Chiefs) Law, 1983 (PNDC Law 75) acknowledged the Kusasi people, again, as the lawful claimants to the Naba of Bawku.
PNDC Law 75 restored ABUGRAGO AZOKA I, though posthumously, and, thereby, authorised the enskinment of NAABA ASIGRI ABUGRAGO AZOKA I as Bawku Naba in April 1983.
PNDC Law 75, however, did not end the Kusasi-Mamprusi conflict. Finally, in 2003, the Supreme Court declared ABUGRAGO AZOKA I as the rightful chief and overlord of Bawku. The conflict continued, regardless.
READ: Bawku Chieftaincy Saga: Court grants Naa Sheriga GH¢100k bail with two sureties
Conflict
The intermittent conflict notwithstanding, every Government since 2003 has maintained fidelity to the Supreme Court decision.
For instance, a public statement, which was issued on December 29, 2021, by the then Minister for Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, HON. EBENEZER KOJO KUM (M.P.), read as follows: “The list of members of the Upper East Regional House of Chiefs with its regional house at Bolgatanga states that the Paramount Chief of Bawku, the current occupant of the skin, is Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II, who was enskinned on 24th April, 1984, and thus became the President of the Kusaug Traditional Council.”
That notwithstanding, the Accused Person allowed himself to be held out, has since held himself out, and has been acting as the Bawku Naba. More particularly, he had himself declared as the Bawku Naba at a ceremony in Nalerigu on February 14, 2023, knowing very well that he is not qualified to do so; whereupon he moved to reside in Bawku.
His action and presence in Bawku did immediately provoke a violent riot and extreme disorder in Bawku and other communities, leading to the killing of at least 134 persons.
All attempts to have the Accused Person depart Bawku, including several months of mediation by the Asantehene under the mandate of the President, have proven futile.
The violence surged in December 2025, leading to more killings and unlawful harm to several hundreds of people. This round of violence threatened national security and, concomitantly, even the life of the Accused Person himself.
The security agencies, on the approval of the National Security Council, removed the Accused Person from Bawku and had, under a court order, kept him in protective custody pending further investigation.
Thorough investigations have established that the Accused Person knew the following:
a. That ABUGRAGO AZORKA II is the lawful Bawku Naba,
b. That he (the Accused Person) is not qualified to be Bawku Naba; and
c. That purporting to be Bawku Naba and acting as such was bound to provoke violence and lead to killings.
He acted so, nonetheless. Further investigations have revealed that the Accused Person directly and actively recruited persons and mobilised weapons and other resources to carry out various acts of violence in Bawku and other communities.
His presence in Bawku was, until his removal by the security agencies in December 2025, the single most provocative factor of the latest version of the Kusasi-Mamprusi violence.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
