Terrorism Threats: Be more Observant and Vigilant – Minister advises

The Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has called on persons in the Ghanaian jurisdiction to be more observant and vigilant about the security ecosystem and to draw the attention of Police, other security agencies and local community leaders immediately they observe anything out of the ordinary.

Addressing a news conference in Accra on Monday on terrorism related matters facing the country, he said in the coming days the Ministry of National Security will be rolling out a full campaign aimed at mobilising 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 sensitising citizens on issues of National Security and empowering the citizenry to report suspicious activities that could potentially compromise the security of their communities”, he said.

The West African Region has in recent times been inundated with attacks by extremist elements some of which have occurred as close as 50 kilometers from Ghana’s northern borders. About 8 military personnel were killed during terrorist attack on May 11, 2022 in Togo

Increasingly, intelligence reports suggest some Ghanaians have been involved in terrorist acts in the Sahel Region, signalling the possible recruitment of Ghanaians by some of the terrorist groups in the West Africa sub region.

Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said the state security and intelligence apparatus have, as a result of this heightened terrorism threats, authorised an increased level of awareness among the intelligence community and seeks to deepen engagement with the Ghanaian public in line with contemporary security practices.

Deputy National Security Coordinator, Edward Kweku Asomani, who also addressed the media at the same news conference, said the campaign would 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 for such activities.

Source: Jennifer Ambolley || The Chronicle