The state must prosecute refugees caught with weapons – Dr Adam Bonaa

Dr Adam Bonaa, a Security Analyst, says the State should prosecute refugees arrested with weapons and ammunition at the Ghana-Burkina Faso border.

He said the hostility within the West Africa sub-region had become volatile that people, including refugees suspected to be terrorists, militants or combatants when caught should not go scot-free under any circumstances.

“Some of them could be terrorists or are combatants fleeing from the conflicts they have started in their country. Prosecute those caught and send them back to their home country to serve whatever sentence given them,” Dr Bonaa said.

National Security has intensified surveillance at the country’s border with Burkina Faso after the refugees, who were dressed like nursing mothers, were arrested with weapons.

Dr Bonaa said the State needed to collaborate with neighbouring countries, especially the war-torn countries to know the profiles of the alleged refugees and take their fingerprints when sending them away.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, he said: “The chances are that some of them will go, disguise themselves and come back again. Others too run into Ghana when the heat is on in their country, go back to stoke the fire when everything seemed to have died out.”

Dr Bonaa said though Ghana was a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention, the arrested refugees should face the full rigours of the law without any fear that Ghana could be seen in bad light by the international community.

“The international community should respect our sovereignty. As a member of the Commonwealth Nations and UN, we shall not allow anybody to come and destabilise this country,” he said.

Kwaku Amankwah Manu, Deputy Defence Minister, earlier said the development had pushed the security agencies to tighten the search on asylum seekers.

Manu said government would not sacrifice the safety of Ghanaians for the rights of the asylum seekers.

“So, we really need to be on the lookout, we have the Ghanaian people to protect, we have properties to protect, we cannot say that because we want to be compassionate, we will not look at the security of our nation,” he said.

James Agalga, Ranking Member, Defence and Interior committee of Parliament, said, government had every right to screen the refugees, but must also be mindful of international treaties that protected the rights of the asylum seekers.

“Government clearly has a commitment not to repatriate refugees who are refugees where they may face very serious threats to their lives and fundamental freedoms,” he said.