High Court Orders Report on Bawku Chief Detention

The Accra High Court has ordered the Attorney General to submit a written report by January 21 justifying the continued detention of Alhaji Seidu Abagre, who claims the Bawku chieftaincy following his enskinment by the Nayiri, Overlord of the Mamprugu Kingdom.

The directive issued during a habeas corpus hearing on January 12 requires the Attorney General to explain the legal basis for Abagre’s detention. The case has been adjourned to January 26 for further proceedings.

The judge noted that under Section 2 of the Habeas Corpus Act, the court has authority to demand written explanation from the detaining authority and, where necessary, order physical production of the detainee. The court indicated a decision on whether Abagre should be brought before the court in person will be considered after reviewing the Attorney General’s report.

Abagre’s lawyers filed the habeas corpus application challenging both his arrest and ongoing detention, arguing he has been held unlawfully for weeks without due process. The application names the Director General of the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) and the Minister of the Interior as respondents.

Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) personnel forcibly arrested Abagre from his residence in Bawku on December 24, 2025, according to the application. His lawyers contend the continued detention exceeds the constitutional 48 hour requirement for producing a detainee before a court.

Martin Kpebu, counsel for the applicant, told the court his client has been denied access to both lawyers and family members, describing the situation as mental torture. He said Abagre’s son, Baba Seidu Abdulai, had been granted only limited access to his father.

When the matter first came before the High Court on January 9, the presiding judge said she required time to study the application, explaining she had been alerted to the case while engaged in additional judicial duties elsewhere. Kpebu agreed to the request but drew the court’s attention to Supreme Court decisions permitting courts to sit on weekends or public holidays in urgent matters.

The Interior Ministry confirmed that GAF personnel removed Abagre from Bawku following recommendations from Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II’s mediation report, stating he remains safe in the care of security agencies. The mediation report affirmed Naaba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II as the legitimate Bawku Naba.

An Adenta Circuit Court granted a detention order on December 26 to remand Abagre to NIB custody until further orders are made by that court or any other court of competent jurisdiction. However, the detention order was granted without Abagre being produced before the court or given access to legal representation, according to critics of the process.

Former Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu characterized Abagre’s removal from Bawku as an unconstitutional abduction ordered by President John Dramani Mahama without proper judicial warrant. In a detailed analysis published January 10, Amidu warned the approach could inadvertently create a martyr for the Mamprusi cause while undermining genuine resolution of the Bawku conflict.

The Nayiri rejected suggestions that Abagre’s arrest constitutes lawful destoolment, insisting in a December 26 statement that only Mamprugu custom determines enskinment or removal, and that arrest or detention does not extinguish chieftaincy status. The Overlord stated that even if Abagre were to pass away in state custody, he would do so as a fully recognized chief under Mamprugu and Bawku custom and usage.

The Mamprugu Traditional Council condemned what it described as arbitrary arrests, intimidation, killings and coercive deployment of state security forces. The council also condemned the unlawful killing of two innocent Mamprusis during Abagre’s arrest and the abduction of Alhaji Abdul Majeed Inusah Badigamsira, an executive member of the Mamprugu Youth Association, from his Gbimsi residence on December 23.

Abagre has been a central figure in the long running Bawku chieftaincy dispute after laying claim to the Bawku skin. The Nayiri enskinned him as Bawku Naba on February 15, 2023, with the National Security Ministry subsequently implanting him in Bawku on October 24, 2024.

That claim was dismissed in the Asantehene’s mediation report, which affirmed Naaba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II as the legitimate Bawku Naba. Following the mediation outcome, Abagre was reportedly required either to leave Bawku and accept reassignment by the Nayiri or remain in the area as an ordinary person.

The chieftaincy component of the Bawku conflict was resolved conclusively long before the 1992 Constitution came into force on January 7, 1993, with Bawku Naba Asigiri Abugrago Azoka II being recognized and gazetted as the Overlord of the Bawku Traditional Area, according to legal analysis by Amidu.

The Bawku conflict has deep historical roots dating to the 1950s when it first emerged between Kusasis and Mamprusis within Bawku town. The conflict flared up again in the 1980s and reignited in November 2021, with the recent dispute widening the conflict zone to engulf the whole of Kusaug Traditional Area in Upper East Region and Mamprusi Traditional Area in the North East Region.