National Network Coordinator of WANEP-Ghana, Albert Yelyang, says there is a clear challenge with command and coordination of all the state’s efforts to quell the Bawku conflict and other criminalities that have arisen as a result.

According to him, following the escalation of the Bawku conflict, criminal activities in the area have seen a significant rise.

He noted that with the court’s impaired by the conflict, these criminal activities are currently unhindered and making the area even more dangerous than it already it is, thus, there is the need to devolve the criminalities from the conflict and deal with them separately.

“The command and control seems to be challenged to the extent that a number of criminal activities have taken place in Bawku and no one has probably known much about what has happened with those incidences.

“Several of them, multiple of them are in court and we’re not seeing any headway with the prosecution of those who have being involved. In fact it’s almost like a stalemate and the courts at Bolgatanga do not seem to work.

“And if you have a situation where people in broad daylight openly committed offences as you would say and there is no prosecution to deter them we must begin to look at criminality as it should be and probably to devolve that from the conflict in Bawku,” he said.

He said there is the need to enforce the laws even amidst the unrest in order not to fuel domestic terrorism.

“And if somebody is seen to be offending the law and not in comformity with the rule of law then that person needs to be brought to book and that can serve as deterrent. There have been attacks by masked men in markets, no one knows about the outcome of those incidences.

“And so it is very important that we need to look at that structure and combine multiple approaches, coordinated ones that can then enable the conversations to go on and also making sure that the clear distinction between criminal act and then processes that are also seen to be lawful,” he stressed.