Mamprugu Youth Association alleges killing of Bawku resident in custody

The Mamprugu Youth Association has accused the Ghana Police Service of extra-judicially killing a 33-year-old man from Bawku, Abdul-Aziz Iddrisu, while he was in police custody.

According to the Association, the incident forms part of what it describes as a systematic pattern of abuse and ethnic persecution against Mamprusis within the conflict-prone Bawku area.

Lawyer for the Association, Yakubu Nambe, stated that Iddrisu was arrested on February 17, 2026, but later died while in the custody of the police. He alleged that although the police initially denied holding the suspect, a previous public statement from the service had confirmed his arrest.

Mr. Nambe further claimed that the Ghana Police Service only verbally informed him about Iddrisu’s death through the Inspector-General of Police, but no official statement or autopsy report has been released to the family or the Association.

He said the Association is therefore demanding an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death, accountability for those responsible, and an end to what it describes as arbitrary arrests and persecution of Mamprusi youth in the area.

Police sources had reportedly linked Iddrisu to the fatal attack on officers at the Karimenga barrier in December 2025. However, his family and the Mamprugu Youth Association insist he was targeted because of his ethnicity and his alleged involvement in the Bawku chieftaincy dispute.

The group is calling on President John Dramani Mahama and other relevant state authorities to intervene immediately by instituting a transparent investigation, ensuring the release of Iddrisu’s body to his family, and prosecuting anyone found responsible for his alleged killing.