The Mamprugu Youth Association has issued an indictment of the Ghana Police Service, characterizing the death of 33-year-old Abdul-Aziz Iddrisu, known as “Baaluuse,” as a “chilling violation of fundamental human rights” and a “national disgrace.”
In a press statement delivered by Spokesperson Yakubu Nambe, the group alleged that Iddrisu was summarily executed while in the custody of the state, signaling what they described as a “dangerous slide into state-sponsored ethnic cleansing” in the Bawku Traditional Area.
The Association detailed a troubling chronology beginning with Iddrisu’s arrest on February 17, 2026, in Bolgatanga. Although the Police Service initially publicized the arrest as a major breakthrough in the investigation into a fatal 2025 attack on officers at the Karimenga barrier, the group claims the process quickly descended into illegality.
Despite the family engaging prominent human rights lawyer Martin Kpebu, various security agencies reportedly denied holding the suspect until a meeting with the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) revealed the grim truth. The Association alleges the IGP verbally disclosed that Iddrisu had been shot dead, yet failed to provide a formal written response, an autopsy report, or the release of the body.
The statement argued that this incident is not an isolated case of misconduct but rather the “culmination of a calculated pattern of abuse” targeting the Mamprusi community. The group accused influential figures within the current administration of weaponizing state security apparatus to “identify, profile, surveil, and eliminate” Mamprusi youth under the guise of national security.
They questioned how a suspect “assisting with investigations” could be executed without trial, contrasting his treatment with that of serial offenders who received full judicial oversight. “When did ‘assisting investigations’ become a euphemism for summary execution?” Nambe asked during the briefing.
In a direct appeal for accountability, the Mamprugu Youth Association called on President John Dramani Mahama to intervene and reaffirm the neutrality of the nation’s security forces.
Their demands include a full, transparent disclosure of the circumstances surrounding Iddrisu’s death and an independent postmortem examination conducted by a facility such as Korle-Bu or 37 Military Hospital, citing a lack of confidence in the impartiality of the Police Hospital. They further called for the immediate suspension of the IGP and the establishment of a bipartisan commission of inquiry to investigate the killing.
The Association warned that such state-led violence only serves to “inflame” the already volatile situation in Bawku, deepening mistrust and radicalizing the youth. They urged the international community, civil society, and religious leaders to “stand up for justice and equality” and demand the prosecution of all officers involved.
The statement concluded with a stern reminder to the Presidency that silence or delay in addressing these allegations would only “confirm suspicions that state power is being misused for ethnic ends.”
Story By: Eugenia Ewoenam Osei
