Terrorism: Ghanaian recruits involved in recent attacks in West Africa, says Oppong Nkrumah
The Minister of Information Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has said some Ghanaian recruits were involved in the recent terrorist attacks in the West Africa sub region.
The West Africa Centre for Counter-Extremism (WACCE) had already warned of possible terrorist attacks in Ghana.
Addressing the media on Sunday (22 May), Oppong Nkrumah said “as recently as 11 May 2022, 10 military men died as a result of one such terrorist attacks.
“Increasingly intelligence report suggests that some Ghanaians have been involved in terrorist attacks in the Sahel region, what this signals is that there has been a possible attack recruitment of some Ghanaians in the West Africa Sub region.”
“The Ministry of National Security has authorised an increased level of awareness among the intelligence community and seeks to deepen engagement with the Ghanaian public in line with contemporary security practice,” he added.
Fighting terrorism in Ghana must be a collective effort
Kofi Amankwa-Manu, the deputy minister of defence has emphasised the need for a collective effort from all Ghanaians in tackling the menace of terrorism in Ghana,
The West Africa Centre for Counter-Extremism (WACCE) had already warned of possible terrorist attacks in Ghana.
Talking to Kofi Abotsi on TownHall Talk on Friday (20 May) Amankwa-Manu advised the public to report any suspicious character or actions to security agencies to help avert any attack by terrorists.
“So if I in this room see somebody here new, and his behaviour is out of the normal or the norm, the first thing a Ghanaian, a citizen or anybody at all must do is that, first of all report to the police or any security agency at all, it is so important.
“When I say any security agency at all, it doesn’t necessarily mean the army or the police, if you happen to meet immigration, make a report, if you happen to meet a prison officer, make a report because they are all part of what we are doing to nip this in the bud. So, the first thing you have to do is make a report and then they will also do the needful.”
“For I went to a banking hall about two days ago and then there was an empty chair but there was something in the chair and it was a black polythene bag, immediately I saw that I went straight into the banking officer and I said, ‘who owns that,’ immediately she called the security officer and said ‘who left that thing there, make sure it is not there,’ and then a lady came and said ‘oh this belongs to me,’” Amankwa-Manu said.
Amankwa-Manu, however, gave assurance to the public that measures are being rolled out to safeguard the peace and security of the country.
