Govt to destroy over 2,000 seized and surrendered firearms on July 9

The Ministry of the Interior, in collaboration with security agencies, will destroy more than 2,000 seized and surrendered firearms on July 9 as part of efforts to curb the proliferation of illicit weapons and strengthen public safety in Ghana.

The destruction exercise will take place at the Police Depot in Tesano, Accra, and will involve weapons voluntarily surrendered under the National Gun Amnesty Programme as well as firearms confiscated by security agencies.

Announcing the exercise at a press conference in Accra on Tuesday, Interior Minister, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, said the initiative was being undertaken in partnership with the National Commission on Small Arms and Light Weapons, the Ghana Police Service, the Ghana Armed Forces, the National Security Council Secretariat and other stakeholders.

He explained that the firearms slated for destruction included weapons surrendered by owners who no longer wished to possess them and firearms seized during security operations.

Mohammed-Mubarak disclosed that 4,038 unregistered firearms were presented to the police during the Gun Amnesty Programme, which ran from December 1, 2025, to January 30, 2026.

However, he noted that not all the weapons submitted would be destroyed immediately because some owners had surrendered their firearms as part of efforts to regularise their possession through the registration process.

“Such firearms would first undergo assessment to determine whether their owners qualify under the law to possess them,” he said.

According to the minister, pump-action guns and locally manufactured firearms accounted for a significant proportion of the weapons received during the amnesty period.

To improve accountability and traceability, he said locally manufactured firearms are being marked and assigned unique identification numbers to facilitate monitoring and registration where owners meet the legal requirements.

Mohammed-Mubarak described the Gun Amnesty Programme as a major milestone in government’s efforts to reduce the circulation of illicit firearms and prevent gun-related violence.

He urged the public to continue supporting security agencies by providing information that could help combat the illegal possession, movement and trafficking of weapons across the country.

The National Gun Amnesty Programme was launched by the Ministry of the Interior in collaboration with the National Commission on Small Arms and Light Weapons, the Ghana Police Service and other stakeholders under the theme, “Silencing the Guns to Save Our Lives.”

The programme allowed individuals to voluntarily surrender or regularise unlicensed firearms without fear of arrest or prosecution, and was later extended from its initial closing date to January 30, 2026.

Authorities say the destruction of the firearms marks the next phase of efforts to remove illegal weapons from circulation and enhance national security.