The Bissa Development Association (BDA) is demanding justice for seven Ghanaians who were allegedly killed in Burkina Faso.
Burkinabe security officials reportedly arrested the seven Bawku natives in separate incidents on suspicion that they were linked with Jihadist groups.
The security allegedly executed them after the arrest.
During a press conference in Bawku in the Upper East Region, Alhaji Abdul Malik Bansi, who spoke on behalf of BDA, said the first incident happened on October 10, 2023.
He said this happened when two men, Lukman Karim and Bashiru Nuhu from Mognori Central, crossed into Burkina Faso.
Alhaji Bansi added that the second incident occurred when two nomadic herdsmen, who were originally Burkinabe citizens but lived in the Bissa belt in Bawku, crossed with their cattle to Korlela along the White Volta in Burkina Faso in October 2023 to graze.
They were also arrested and executed by Burkinabe security officers.
He said their cattle were sent to a public location in Burkina Faso for owners to come for identification and collection.
“On October 13 2023, 6 men, 5 of whom are owners of some of the cattle, and the 6th person being Mahmudu Bani, father of the two herdsmen executed days earlier, all of whom are from the Bissa belt, crossed the border from Ghana into Burkina Faso to identify and retrieve their missing cattle that were sent to the identification and collection centre after the two herdsmen were executed.
“According to sources, the 5 Ghanaian Bissas and their Fulani herdsman, Bani Mahmudu, were allegedly arrested by security forces in Burkina Faso and summarily executed. Sources allege that Bani Mahmudu, who led the five cattle owners, was already on a wanted list of the security forces for some alleged links to Jihadist groups,” he said.
The second batch of victims were Jibril Ibrahim, 39; Abdullah Bagare, 62; Mumuni Seidu, 31; Abdul Kadril, 52; and Issaka, 40.
BDA says the silence of the government of Ghana over the issue is a worry to the families of the victims who have lost hope.
They are, therefore, calling on the government to thoroughly investigate the matter and bring justice to the victims and families.
“While we appreciate the Burkinabe government’s effort to combat terrorism on its territory, we cannot accept the alleged summary execution of our brothers who cross into Burkina Faso for one reason or the other. The BDA further condemns the deafening silence by the government of Ghana in addressing the reports of the missing 7. It has been three long months of trauma, grief, and extreme pain for the families and loved ones of the missing persons,” the group said.