Islamic clerics arrested at Nambagla released after a month in custody

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The Islamic clerics arrested at Nambagla in the Savelugu Municipality have been released after almost a month in the custody of National Security Operatives. 

National Secretary of Tabital Pulaaku, Alhaji Musah Barry, who confirmed the development to JoyNews, said that Shiek Hussein Siita was released with his right-hand man without any charge. 

After their arrest, the two were detained with 29 others by National Security Operatives after raiding an Arabic learning centre in the Savelugu village. 

They were suspected of teaching Islamist extremism and having links with terrorist organisations in Nigeria and the Sahel. 

But speaking to JoyNews, the Fulani General Secretary said the National Security Operatives found nothing incriminating against the two, hence their release from custody. 

He, however, confirmed that the learning centre remains closed down as directed by the security agency. 

“They are all released. I think the security did not find anything serious to keep them. So that is all I can tell about that. They were released about two weeks ago, all of them have been released, and their items have also been released. So I think they don’t get any evidence to hold them,” he said.

Meanwhile, Alhaji Musah Barry has repeated his call for the state security agency to stop the ethnic profiling of Fulanis as, according to him, it marginalizes and enforces stereotypes about the Fulani group in Ghana.

“It is an alarming something. I don’t think it’s only Fulanis that are doing this or only Fulanis that are being the armed robbers, or only Fulanis that are doing this. If you attach crime to a particular tribe, I think it’s very dangerous.

“I think you see our neighbouring countries; this is why injustice, that is what you get those challenges across the West African sub-region. So we should focus on crime. If it is a crime, let’s focus it is a crime. But not about a particular tribe attached to the crime,” he said.