Nine suspects have been arrested at the Saawie community in the Jirapa municipality of the Upper West region, after a routine police mission aimed at defusing communal tensions turned violent.
The Friday, December 5, 2025, exercise aimed at diffusing tensions escalated into violence and led to the injury of some police officers, with three service weapons being seized by the angry mob.
The Upper West Regional Police Command has since mobilised a reinforcement which led to the arrest of the nine suspects, with a 24-hour ultimatum given to the local authorities to recover two high-powered rifles that are still missing.
Police situational report (sitrep) says the incident started around 3:40pm when the Jirapa Municipal Police stormed the Saawie community to investigate a complaint about attempts to burn down houses belonging to some Fulani herdsmen — an age-long issue that has been a source of conflict in the vicinity.
In its attempt to prevent inter-communal violence, the Jirapa Municipal Commander, ASP George Doe, and a team of four other ranks sought to invite the opinion leaders to engage in a dialogue to that effect.
But the outreach turned chaos when the officers, upon arrival, were “violently confronted and attacked by approximately thirty (30) members of the community,” resulting in serious injuries to the officers.
The assailants compounded the attack by forcibly disarming the police and making off with three (3) AK-47 rifles and one (1) pistol.
The Regional Police Commander, DCOP Francis Yiribaare, in immediate response to the development, ordered a large-scale mobilisation by drawing personnel from multiple district commands, including Jirapa, Lawra, Wa, Nadowli, and Nandom, to execute a rescue and containment operation in the Saawie Community.
The reinforcement team successfully rescued the injured officers.
The officers were evacuated to the St. Joseph Hospital in Jirapa, with some reaching the facility through assistance from other sources.
The Commander later visited the officers, reporting that all five were “responding positively to treatment” at the time of the visit.
A detailed search operation was launched immediately after the rescue mission, focusing on recovering the stolen weapons.
Weapons Recovered: The search led to the recovery of one (1) AK-47 rifle (without a magazine) and one (1) pistol.
Weapons Missing: Two (2) AK-47 rifles and one (1) magazine belonging to the service remain unaccounted for, posing a significant security concern if they fall into the wrong hands.
Further sweep operations within the community resulted in the swift arrest of nine suspects, who were found hiding under beds or actively attempting to flee the area.
In addition to the suspects, the police retrieved several items abandoned by other fleeing members of the mob, indicating their involvement in illegal activities. The items include:
- Three (3) locally manufactured guns.
- Two (2) motorbikes.
- One (1) tricycle.
- Three (3) deep freezers and one (1) table-top fridge.
The suspects and the retrieved items were transported to the Wa Regional Headquarters for further interrogation and comprehensive investigations into the assault and the weapons theft.
In a move to recover the remaining weapons and ensure accountability, DCOP Yiribaare engaged directly with the Chief and the Assembly member of Saawie.
The Regional Commander issued a stern warning regarding the “gravity of the incident”—assault on state officers and theft of firearms—and delivered a non-negotiable directive: the community leaders must produce the two remaining AK-47 rifles and the magazine within 24 hours.
The police emphasise that the continued safety of the community and the region depends on the immediate return of the missing military-grade weapons.
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