Do not panic! Ghanaians told ahead of counter-terrorism exercise on Friday

The country’s security agencies and emergency services organisations will on Friday carry out a counter-terrorism training exercise within the Accra-Tema metropolis.

“The exercise will involve the movement of troops and equipment in some parts of Accra,” a statement issued by the Ministry of National Security on Wednesday said.

The exercise codenamed EX HOME SHIELD is aimed at practising and harnessing the various roles and expertise of all stakeholders in the National Counter Terrorism Effort (NCTE).

It is also to test the preparedness of the stakeholders in event of any terrorist attack.

What is more, it is to sharpen the alertness of all stakeholders in the NCTE in the wake of increased threats of terrorism in the ECOWAS sub-region.

The participants in Friday’s exercise include the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), Ghana Police Service, Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) and the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI).

The others are National Security Council, National Disaster Management Organisation (Nadmo), Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Financial Intelligence Centre.

The rest are the National Ambulance Service and the Ghana Health Service.

“The public is thus advised not to panic when they observe any such unusual movement of troops, personnel and equipment.

“The public is also advised to cooperate with the police who will be deployed to control and divert traffic flow at short notice as part of the exercise,”

concluded the statement signed by Director of Counter-Terrorism at the Ministry of National Security COP (rtd) George Asiamah.