Alhaji Seidu Abagre
The Attorney General (AG) and Minister for Justice has filed a full report on embattled Alhaji Seidu Abagre, who was arrested and detained by the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) for allegedly acting as a chief without qualification, as ordered by the court.
The court gave the order in an ongoing Habeas Corpus application filed by the family of Alhaji Abagre, who alleged that they were denied access to the detainee.
The court had given the Attorney General, Dr. Dominic Ayine, up to January 21, 2026, to file the report. It was however, only filed on Monday morning, few moments before the court sat for the case.
The court had to stand the case down for 30 minutes for Alhaji Seidu Abagre’s legal team, led by Martin Kpebu, to peruse the report which was handed to them in the courtroom.
When the case was recalled, Mr. Kpebu challenged certain parts of the report and asked the court for an opportunity to file an affidavit in opposition and controvert those “inaccuracies.”
Deputy Attorney General, Dr. Justice Srem-Sai opposed this by indicating that there was a misalignment of the procedures in the matter.
The trial judge, Justice Halimah El-Alawa Abdul-Baasit, wondered why the issue had to be stretched, especially when the applicant had already appeared before the court last week, which takes care of the reliefs sought by the Habeas Corpus application.
“I’m wondering why we need to stretch this further and not channel our energy and resources to the substantive matter,” the judge said.
Mr. Kpebu then sought leave to address the court on his objections on the report, and the court gave him the go ahead.
He objected to the claim by the Attorney General that the Supreme Court declared Abugrago Azoka II as the rightful chief and overlord of Bawku.
“This statement is incorrect. The said decision concerned a withdrawal of the chieftaincy case between the parties that was put before the Supreme Court. The plaintiff asked to withdraw and the Supreme Court ordered that there would be no liberty to reapply. So the Supreme Court never went into the case at all,” he averred.
He also denied claims that Alhaji Seidu Abagre’s actions and presence in Bawku provoked violent riot, leading to killing of at least 134 persons.
The Deputy Attorney General refuted the objection by noting that “these are opinions on facts and I pray that they may be treated as such.”
Mr. Kpebu, observing the circumstances of the issues, withdrew the application and the court struck it out as withdrawn.
The court, on January 19, remanded Alhaji Seidu Abagre, a claimant to the Bawku chieftaincy position, following the decision of the Attorney General to prefer criminal charges against him.
He has been charged with one count of acting as a chief without qualification contrary to the Chieftaincy Act.
The state is accusing him of acting as the Bawku Naba when he is “not qualified to do so.”
It says he had himself declared as the Bawku Naba at a ceremony in Nalerigu on February 14, 2023, “knowing very well that he is not qualified to do so; whereupon he moved to reside in Bawku.”
BY Gibril Abdul Razak