Legal tensions surrounding the Bawku chieftaincy dispute intensified on Monday as an Accra High Court ordered the continued detention of Alhaji Seidu Abagre, popularly referred to as the “rival Bawku Naba.” The decision follows his arrest late last year and recommendations by the Asantehene for his removal from the chieftaincy role.
Alhaji Seidu Abagre was arrested on December 24, 2025, and has since remained in custody. His lawyer, Martin Kpebu, speaking to journalists after court proceedings on January 19, 2026, revealed that his client has now been formally charged with four criminal offences and remanded despite a bail application.
According to Kpebu, the charges include provoking a riot in Bawku, conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace, unlawfully holding himself out as a chief contrary to the Chieftaincy Act, and unlawful possession of firearms. The court adjourned the criminal case to February 2, 2026.
“The court has remanded him, so we are returning in respect of today’s criminal case on February 2, 2026. This is a criminal matter before the Attorney-General,” Kpebu said.
“They have slapped him with four charges. They allege that he held himself out as a chief contrary to the Chieftaincy Act. They also say he provoked a riot and behaved in a manner likely to cause a breach of the peace. These are what we describe in law as misdemeanours. He is not a flight risk, so we applied for bail, but the court declined and asked us to return,” he added.
Kpebu also revisited an earlier habeas corpus application filed on behalf of his client, which challenges the legality of Abagre’s detention. He disclosed that the matter has been adjourned to January 26, 2026.
“On the 26th, we will return to the first case, the habeas corpus application. The state simply picked him up and put him in custody. For 26 days, they didn’t know what to do. It is today that they have come up with what we consider bogus charges,” he said.
“So we are challenging the legality of his detention. That is what we will be coming back on Monday to pursue. If they cannot justify why they kept him, the judge will order his release. So there are two cases: the habeas corpus application and the criminal case the state, or the public prosecutor, has commenced against him,” Kpebu concluded.
The case adds another layer of complexity to the already sensitive Bawku chieftaincy conflict, as legal proceedings continue to unfold in Accra.
