Dominic Ntiwul is a former Minister of Defence
Former defence minister and Bimbilla Member of Parliament, Dominic Ntiwul, has urged President John Dramani Mahama to appoint a substantive defence minister following the recent terrorist attack on Ghanaian tomato traders in Burkina Faso.
Speaking on Channel One TV on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, Ntiwul stressed that Minister of the Interior is not the right authority to lead the response.
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“The Minister of Defence and their team should have been on a flight to Burkina Faso by now, this is not the role of the interior minister, though he is my friend because the interior minister’s responsibilities do not extend beyond the border and that’s why I kept on calling that the president should have appointed a defence minister because by this time the minister for defence should have been on the flight to Burkina with his team,” he remarked.
Dominic Ntiwul also called on the government to provide a thorough account of the recent terrorist attack in Burkina Faso that claimed the lives of eight (8) Ghanaian traders.
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“I think the Ghanaian government must explain to us what happened and under what circumstances. While the government has issued an official statement, we are seeking a more detailed explanation, either from the foreign minister or the Minister of Defence,” Ntiwul said.
Touching on the defence ministry’s role in preventing future attacks, he stated, “It is the duty of the Minister of Defence, along with defence intelligence and security teams, to set up a team, go there, investigate, and determine exactly what happened. They need to examine the circumstances that led to the incident and also identify the best ways to prevent it from happening again. That is extremely important for us.”
On February 14, 2026, a truck carrying a group of tomato traders was caught in a terrorist attack in northern Burkina Faso.
The incident took place in the town of Titao, a region increasingly besieged by extremist factions linked to al-Qaeda.
The tragic incident led to the death of 8 traders, who have since been buried.
The Ghana Armed Forces has successfully evacuated three (3) traders who were injured as part of the government’s coordinated humanitarian and security response.
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