It was just before dawn in March 2024 when Abdul Rahman Salam heard bursts of gunfire erupt behind his home near the market in Gbingbani, a remote farming hamlet in the Yunyoo–Nasuan District of Ghana’s North East Region, along the border with northern Togo. He was preparing his suhoor meal ahead of the day’s fast when the shooting began.
Weeks of rising tension over a chieftaincy dispute had spiralled into violent clashes between two Konkomba factions in the border community.
Following his elder brother’s instruction, Salam rushed to shut the family gate before returning to his room. But his predawn meal was interrupted again by the screams of women and children as gunfire intensified.
Salam and his family remained trapped in the crossfire until around 6 a.m., when armed security forces arrived from Nalerigu, the regional capital, 71km away. With their presence, the family managed to flee on foot across the border into Togo.
“When we came out to leave the community, the whole market was on fire. I saw a tipper truck and two tractors burning right in front of our house,” Salam recounted.
Across the road, a small mud structure serving as an over-the-counter drug store was also partially burned and looted. Its owner, Pastor John Daniel Naalub, spoke to JoyNews.
“A lot of properties were destroyed, including this store. That’s why I decided to release my land for the construction of the police station.”
Although calm was briefly restored and security forces withdrew, violence erupted again two months later in June.
Cause and Impact of the Violence
According to the Assembly Representative for the area, Nguma Nlema John, the clashes were sparked by the Gbingbani Chief’s resistance to the planned installation of a Youth Chief by the Chief of Gbankurugu.
Both traditional areas are autonomous and equal in status, as their chiefs are directly enskinned by the Mamprugu Overlord, the Nayiri. Traditionally, Youth Chiefs are installed by the main chiefs of their respective villages. The Gbingbani Chief and his elders, therefore, opposed the Gbankurugu Naba’s attempt to perform an enskinment in their community.
The Assemblyman said the March and June clashes left two people dead—including a mercenary from the nearby Chereponi District—resulted in massive destruction of property, and displaced nearly the entire population of Gbingbani.
Schools, the local market, and the road linking Gbingbani to neighbouring communities were also shut down as a result of the unrest.
Blood Burial Ceremony
Amid the recurrent violence, traditional leaders and local authorities in Nalerigu suspended all traditional activities in the conflict area and deployed permanent security personnel to restore order.
Following months of peace-building efforts by regional authorities and NGOs—including the Catholic Diocese of Bolgatanga—the rival factions agreed in October 2024 to end hostilities. The truce was sealed through a traditional “blood burial” ceremony, an age-old custom of the Moba and Komba ethnic groups used to symbolically end conflict and restore harmony.
Led by their respective leaders, supporters from Gbingbani and Gbankurugu pledged to coexist peacefully.
EU-Funded Police Post for Rapid Response
The Assemblyman noted that in previous incidents, security forces took four to five hours to arrive—long enough for extensive damage to occur and for perpetrators to flee.
Until recently, deployed officers operated out of a hastily renovated temporary structure.
To strengthen rapid response and enhance security, the European Union, through the Tamale-based organization Coginta, has funded and inaugurated a new police station under the EU’s Peace Protect Project. The initiative aims to promote community policing and build resilience against insecurity and violent extremism in northern Ghana.
Through Coginta, the project has trained 184 police officers in community policing strategies, provided 75 motorbikes to police units across the region, and constructed seven police stations in border district communities across the five northern regions.
The investment in community policing totals approximately £975,990—more than 14 million Ghana cedis.
At the handover ceremony, Coginta Country Director Rev. Fr. Clement Ampimno praised the EU’s long-standing support:
“We extend our sincere appreciation to the European Union for their consistent support and for believing in the vision of peaceful, secure, and resilient communities.”
He also urged residents of Gbingbani to cooperate fully with the police: “Let’s see the police as our friends, our brothers and sisters. Let us support them so we can maintain peace and go about our duties.”
COP Suraj, Director General of the National Police Patrol Directorate, echoed the call for collaboration:
“Police officers, remember this station is a platform for collaboration—listening, learning, and planning together. Identify problems and solve them with the community, guided by the chiefs and elders.”
He thanked the EU for its assistance and appealed to residents to remain engaged: “We will depend on your voices to guide us.
“We want ongoing dialogue and feedback. This station exists for you, and its success will be measured by the quality of the relationship between officers and community leaders.”
District Chief Executive James Alhassan Bonathan also expressed gratitude and appealed to the EU and Coginta to consider constructing police bungalows in Gbingbani.
He further called on police leadership to post a dedicated commander to the Yunyoo District to ensure timely response to security threats.
Created in 2018, the district has no police commander and still relies on the Bunkpurugu–Nakpanduri District for emergency security needs.
“I want to use this opportunity to appeal to the Director General to decouple the Bunkpurugu–Yunyoo Police Command and post a Police Commander to the Yunyoo District,” he said.
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