New Patriotic Party (NPP) 2028 flagbearer Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has called on government to deepen intelligence cooperation with neighbouring countries and strengthen Ghana’s counter-terrorism framework following the burial in Burkina Faso of seven Ghanaian traders killed in a jihadist attack in Titao on Saturday, February 14.
The seven men, described as tomato buyers and truck drivers, were buried in Burkina Faso on Monday after their bodies were burnt beyond recognition in the attack and began decomposing before Ghana’s diplomatic mission could reach the scene. Interior Minister Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak confirmed the burial on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Monday, disclosing that the volatile security situation in northern Burkina Faso prevented Ghana’s mission from being present at the ceremony. Eight women survivors were permitted to witness the burial and take photographs. DNA samples were collected before interment to support forensic identification given the severity of the burns.
Bawumia issued his statement on Facebook on Sunday, extending condolences on behalf of the NPP, himself and his wife Samira to bereaved families, and calling on government to pursue immediate policy action. He urged the deepening of intelligence sharing with all neighbouring countries and the strengthening of existing frameworks for preventing and countering violent extremism and terrorism to better protect Ghanaians travelling or working abroad.
The attack targeted a truck carrying 18 Ghanaian tomato traders, comprising 10 men and eight women, as it passed through Titao, a town in northern Burkina Faso that has experienced repeated extremist attacks since 2019. Extremists forced the women off the vehicles before opening fire and setting the trucks ablaze. Seven men died instantly. Three men and one woman sustained serious burns and are currently receiving hospital treatment, with one woman in critical condition. The remaining seven women are reported to be stable. Burkina Faso’s military is creating a secure corridor to transfer all survivors to Ghana’s diplomatic mission in Ouagadougou for repatriation.
The Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, known by its Arabic acronym Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM), claimed responsibility for the attack on February 16, stating it had killed dozens of Burkinabe soldiers in the raid. Security analysts estimate JNIM commands between 5,000 and 6,000 fighters, making it the most powerful extremist group operating across the Sahel. The group is primarily based in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso but has extended operations southward into Togo, Benin and Cote d’Ivoire, carrying out its first known attack on Nigerian soil in late 2025.
Security analyst Col Festus Aboagye (retired) told Citi FM that the attack was not specifically targeted at Ghanaians. He said JNIM’s operational method centres on destabilising Burkina Faso rather than targeting foreign nationals, and characterised the traders’ deaths as a consequence of being in the wrong location at a time of active armed confrontation between militants and Burkinabe security forces.
NPP Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin and Ranking Member on the Defence and Interior Committee Alexander Okyere Baafi separately condemned the attack, with Baafi calling for a parliamentary inquiry into the circumstances and the government’s response. Deputy Majority Leader Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah said government is committed to ensuring the repatriation of survivors and the return of the remains of the deceased to their families in Ghana.
The tragedy has intensified a national debate about Ghana’s dependence on cross-border tomato sourcing and the structural vulnerability of traders operating in conflict-affected Sahelian states. The Vegetable Producers and Exporters Association of Ghana (VEPEAG) issued a statement Tuesday urging government to urgently revive irrigation infrastructure to support domestic tomato production and eliminate the need for traders to venture into insecure territories.
Burkina Faso withdrew from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in January 2025 alongside Mali and Niger following the formation of the Alliance of Sahel States, complicating consular assistance and limiting the diplomatic channels available to Ghana for protecting its nationals in the country.
President John Mahama has not issued a formal statement specifically addressing the Titao attack. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed government is coordinating with Burkina Faso authorities and Ghana’s Ouagadougou mission on survivor repatriation and victim identification.
Interior Minister Mubarak also appealed to members of the public to refrain from sharing footage or photographs of the victims’ remains out of respect for families still being notified.
