Government has urged citizens to be partners in the fight against the increasing spate of terrorism and piracy to Ghana.
Citizens have also been called upon to be on alert and report suspicious activities as part of efforts to step up terrorism and piracy response in the country.
This comes after an upsurge in terrorist attacks and piracy attacks in the West Africa sub-region with neighboring countries like Burkina Faso and Cote d’Ivoire recording cases in recent times.
Addressing journalist at a press briefing in Accra, Minister for Information, KojoOppong Nkrumah said the growing and worrying terrorism and piracy situation consumed a lot of cabinet attention over the weekend when President Akufo-Addo met with senior government officials.
He said: “in the few months nations that share borders with Ghana including Burkina Faso and Cote d’Ivoire have experienced series of terrorist attacks with the recent one on June 5 where about 160 people were killed in Yagha Province in Burkina Faso bordering Niger.
“The Akufo-Addo Administration has in the last four years worked hard in putting in place measures to ensure our boarders are safe from these attacks. Nonetheless there is the need to do more and we want to assure the Ghanaian public that we will tighten measures to ensure the safety of the Ghanaian people,” he added.
Despite the increasing spate of terrorism and piracy on the country’s borders, he said government will continue to put in place appropriate measures to ensure that Ghana is protected from the increasing risks of terrorist activity and piracy close to our borders.
The West African sub-region has become a hotbed for terrorist and piracy attacks. The recent terrorist attack was a June 5th attack in a village called Solhan in the Yagha province in the eastern part of Burnkina Faso bordering Niger. Armed men killed at least 160 people in what is documented as the country’s worst terrorist attack in recent years.
According to the International Maritime Bureau’s (IMB) latest global piracy report, 38 piracy incidents have been recording on the Gulf of Guinea since the start of 2021, compared with 47 incidents during the same period last year. In the first three months of 2021, the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC) reported 33 vessels boarded, two attempted attacks, two vessels fired upon, and one vessel hijacked.
Despite a drop in the number of reported piracy incidents for Q1 2021, violence against crew is on the rise in comparison to previous years. Since the start of 2021, 40 crew have been kidnapped compared to 22 crew in Q1 2020. A crew member was also killed in Q1 2021.
This, the Minister urged Ghanaians to be cautious, curious, and report any suspicious activities to law enforcement agencies for the appropriate action to be taken.
