Alhaji Abagre charged for posing as Bawku Naaba

The Attorney-General has put Alhaji Seidu Abagre, a 78-year-old retired teacher, on trial for allegedly holding himself out as the Bawku Naaba without lawful authority, a development prosecutors say contributed to renewed unrest in the area.

Alhaji Abagre appeared before a High Court presided over by Justice Alimah El-Alawa Abdul Basit, where he pleaded not guilty to four criminal counts after the prosecution read the brief facts of the case.

According to court documents, a mediation process led by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, had earlier examined the chieftaincy dispute and rejected Abagre’s claim to the Bawku Naaba title. The mediation report affirmed Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II as the legitimate Bawku Naaba.

Following the mediation, Alhaji Abagre was reportedly directed to either leave Bawku entirely or remain in the town strictly as an ordinary resident without making any traditional claims.

Prosecutors told the court that several attempts were made to get the accused to comply with the mediation outcome, but these efforts were unsuccessful.

The Attorney-General’s Department further alleged that violence escalated in December 2025, resulting in multiple killings and unlawful harm to several hundred people, a surge the prosecution links to the accused’s continued presence and actions in the area.

Alhaji Abagre was arrested on December 24, 2025, in the wake of the renewed violence and has remained in custody since then.

He was formally arraigned before the High Court on January 19, 2026. Meanwhile, his lawyers, led by Martin Kpebu, have filed a bail application on his behalf.

The court has remanded Alhaji Abagre into the custody of the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) and adjourned the case to a later date.