Security forces have removed Alhaji Seidu Abagre from Bawku in the Upper East Region in a move directly linked to the implementation of a peace plan led by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.
The operation took place on December 24, 2025, when personnel of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) escorted Mr Abagre out of the township in line with recommendations from the mediation report aimed at ending the long-running Bawku chieftaincy dispute. 
The Ministry of the Interior confirmed the action in an official statement, saying that Mr Abagre is safe and currently in the custody of state security agencies.
The statement said the removal was carried out pursuant to the recommendations contained in the mediation report presented by the Asantehene to President John Dramani Mahama earlier in December. 
The Bawku dispute, rooted in decades-long tensions between the Kusasi and Mamprusi communities over the rightful occupant of the Bawku skin, has periodically erupted into violence and eruptions requiring state intervention. 
As part of his mediation proposals, the Asantehene recommended that Mr Abagre, who was recently installed as a rival Mamprusi chief in Bawku, be recalled to Nalerigu by the Nayiri of Mamprugu and reassigned to a different traditional role at the Nayiri’s palace. Alternatively, the report stated that if Mr Abagre chooses to stay in Bawku, he must do so strictly as a private citizen and not hold himself out as Bawku Naba. 
Government officials and stakeholders involved in the process have described the implementation of these recommendations as critical to creating conditions for lasting peace and stability in the area. In the days leading up to the removal, security measures, including curfews and deployments, were maintained in Bawku to help prevent further clashes as the mediation roadmap was being enforced. 
The enforcement of the Asantehene’s mediation report represents a significant step in the state’s broader effort to resolve the Bawku chieftaincy crisis, which has disrupted social and economic life in the municipality for years. 
