Terrorist threat: No cause for alarm – Dep. Defence Minister

Deputy Minister of Defence, Maj. Rtd. Derrick Oduro has given assurance that the country’s security apparatus is wide awake and firmly on the ground to quell any incident of terrorist attack in Ghana.

His assurance comes on the back of a warning by the Africa Center for Security and Intelligence Studies (ACSIS) that Churches in Ghana are the potential target of a terrorist group, Salafi-Jihadist based in Burkina Faso.

In a security alert, the Centre said the group has been moving in and out of Ghana’s border with Burkina Faso over the past four months.

Their most immediate target would be churches in the Northern region while the terrorists are likely to operate from mining zones.

Mining areas, the alert explained, are considered a safe haven for these ideologically-driven criminals.

Already, the Salafi-Jihadist militants on February 15, 2019, killed four Burkinabe customs officers at a checkpoint at Nohao near the Ghana border and burnt three vehicles. They also killed a Spanish priest.

Reacting to the security alert raised in an interview with Ejura based Naagyei FM, Maj. Rtd Derick Oduro stated security agencies take the alert very seriously and have already mapped out strategies to combat any terrorist attack.

“We are not leaving anything to chance, we’ve deployed our Special Forces on the ground who have covered almost every space. That is why terrorists are not able to strike in Ghana, we noticed that the terrorist may come from Burkina Faso and so the Upper East and Upper West Regions of Ghana have been covered by our Special Forces.

“Our troops are also on the ground in the Central part of Ghana, but they are operating in such a way that they are not visible in order not to create any seen of insecurity in the country and put fear in the citizenry. Operation Calm Life and other security patrols have been intensified.”

Maj. Derick Oduro, however, urged the public to be vigilant and look out for any suspicious characters as security is a shared responsibility.