Bawku Central MP demands Avoka’s resignation

Interior Minister Cletus Avoka The Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Adamu Daramani, is demanding the resignation of Interior Minister, Cletus Avoka, ahead of a security meeting in Bawku Monday. Mr Daramani said the latest violence in Bawku, which led to the death of six persons over the weekend, could have been averted if the Interior Minister had acted on several alerts and warning signals given the him. The MP cited reports of guerrilla training in Bawku, the threat of which he said Mr Avoka has repeatedly played down. “It’s [with] a heavy heart that I have to say this about a senior brother. If we were living in other jurisdictions, where people had principles…he would have resigned without any prodding. “Forget about personal utterances but the fact is that, first, there is weapons training at his backyard; everybody in this country knows everybody or [everybody] in Bawku knows everybody. These are cow boys holding jittery rifles, AK[47] rifles and all he does is to try and discredit the pictures. What is his motive? Mr Dramani questioned. “He should resign or be sacked by His Excellency [president Mills],” Mr Daramani intimated. The MP also accuses a security officer whose name he gave as Corporal Sammy, a native of the area, of being responsible for one of the deaths over the weekend. He alleged the security officer, in the company of other officers, shot and killed the uncle of one of the persons earlier in the violence. The incident, he said, happened at the residence of the deceased and in the full glare of the public. The MP also alleged Mr Avoka is playing down the seriousness of the developments in the area. “And that is very annoying,” he added. Attempts to reach Mr Avoka for comments have been unsuccessful. Meanwhile, Joy News correspondent Joseph Osei said uneasy calm currently hangs over the town, with a 1pm to 6am curfew in imposed Sunday in place. Story by Fiifi Koomson/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana