Report by Nana POKU
Ghana’s Deputy National Security Coordinator, Mr. Edward Kwaku Asomani has advised Ghanaians to be on the alert to report any strange characters in their neighborhood to the assembly or security agencies to offset possible terrorist attacks.
Speaking to the Press at the Ministry of Information in Accra, he said this is a matter of national concern. He, therefore, called on all Ghanaians to watch people with suspicious outlooks who may wreak havoc on unsuspecting individuals and vital areas in the country.
He intimated that over the last few weeks some attacks have been visited on West African countries including neighboring Togo that resulted in the death of 10 Togolese nationals. He said that out of the total number of attacks in Africa, 49% have happened in the West Africa sub-region.
He noted that this calls for education, sensitization, alertness, and participation of all Ghanaians. He assured the nation that the National Security Ministry is not panicking and is prepared and poised to defend the nation at all times.
Mr. Asomani stated that terrorists normally attack mining areas and volatile places where there’s a security threat. He charged all chiefs, indigenes, MMDCES, and security agencies to be alert to check this threat that may take different forms. He indicated that by Tuesday, the Ministry of National Security will meet the Press at the ministry to inform Ghanaians about the way forward. The Deputy National Coordinator further assured Ghanaians that there will be more Police visibility on all vital installations and volatile areas and people in what he called fault lines.
The West African Region has in recent weeks been inundated with attacks by extremist elements some of which have occurred as close as 50 kilometers from Ghana’s northern frontiers.
As recently as May 11th, 2022, in Togo, about 15 assailants and 8 military personnel were killed during a terrorist attack.
Increasingly, intelligence reports suggest some Ghanaians have been involved in terrorist acts in the Sahel Region signaling the possible recruitment of Ghanaians by some of the terrorist groups in the West Africa sub-region.
Addressing the Minister’s Press Briefing, a regular media engagement platform put together by the Ministry of Information in Accra on Sunday, May 22, 2022, Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, said the state security and intelligence apparatus has as a result of this heightened terrorism threats authorized an increased level of awareness among the intelligence community and seeks to deepen engagement with the Ghanaian public in line with contemporary security practices.
“We are therefore at this point specifically drawing the attention of persons in the Ghanaian jurisdiction to be more observant and vigilant about our security ecosystem and to draw the attention of Police, other security agencies, and local community leaders, immediately they observe anything out of the ordinary,” he said.
This Minister Oppong Nkrumah announced that in the coming days the Ministry of National Security will be rolling out a full campaign aimed at mobilizing and providing persons in the jurisdiction with more security education.
The campaign dubbed “See Something, Say Something” spearheaded by the National Security Ministry and facilitated by the Ministry of Information is aimed at creating public awareness and sensitizing citizens on issues of National Security and empowering the citizenry to report suspicious activities that could potentially compromise the security of their communities.
Providing more details, Deputy National Security Coordinator, Edward Kweku Asomani said the campaign will be launched by Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia on Tuesday, May 24, 2022, at the Ministry of National Security as part of a whole-of-government and a whole-of-society approach to mitigating threats that confront the state.
He said it is expected that through this campaign and further education the Ministry will highlight the challenges in the sub-region regarding terrorism and other activities that threaten the security of the country and at the same time help increase awareness of such activities.
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