The Ashanti Regional Security Council has established potential connections between the recent spate of shootings in Kumasi and the long-running conflict in Bawku.

Last week, the Kusasi Chief of the Ashanti Region and one other individual were gunned down by unidentified assailants riding motorbikes at Asawase. A separate shooting incident also occurred at Dominase, heightening tensions in the region.

In response, security has been tightened across Kumasi, with snap checks and surveillance measures intensified at key locations.

Speaking on Luv FM’s Luv in the Morning show, Ashanti Regional Security Coordinator, Captain (Rtd) John Jabari, revealed that security agencies are pursuing four key suspects believed to be linked to the killings.

“The analogy that maybe some of these perpetrators are hitting the South is that they have some big men who have money to fuel this conflict,” Captain Jabari said.

He explained that intelligence suggests individuals of Bawku descent residing in the south may be targeted, particularly those suspected of financing one faction of the Bawku conflict.

“They think maybe this man is in the south and has money and is pumping [it] to one of the factions,” he added.
Captain Jabari noted that the situation has stabilised over the past 72 hours, with proactive steps being taken to maintain calm in the region.

Security agencies, he said, are working closely with the Small Arms Commission to tackle arms trafficking and to prevent further escalation.

“There are already enhanced measures in place to track arms proliferation in the region,” he said.

Meanwhile, criminologist Dr Jones Opoku-Ware commended the security response, saying the current measures should be sufficient to intercept possible retaliatory attacks.

“The measures put in place so far are reassuring,” Dr Opoku-Ware noted.