Inter-agency collaboration instrumental in fight against terrorism – Akufo-Addo
President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has revealed Ghana has signed and ratified a number of international instruments in aid of the global call to action against terrorism and violent extremism.
According to the President, the contents of these instruments would serve as a guide in the formulation of a Counter Terrorism Policy.
The call comes on the back of recent activities that show West Africa has become a hotbed of terrorist and extremist activities, as a result of greater activism of groups operating in the North East of Nigeria and the Greater Sahel.
Speaking at the Kofi Annan Peace and Security Forum, President Akufo-Addo explained that Ghana has adopted a well-coordinated Inter-Agency Approach which seeks to prevent acts of terrorism in the country.
He noted “This collaboration would encourage the timely sharing of information and intelligence, operational coordination and joint strategy formulation and has proved essential towards ensuring the efficient execution of the country’s Counter Terrorism Policy.”
“The Counter Terrorism Policy has led to the setting up of a Counter Terrorism Unit, within the National Security Council Secretariat, to lead and co-ordinate our efforts in the fight,” he added.
President Akufo-Addo further said despite being a beacon of peace, stability and democracy in the region, Ghana must know she cannot be immune from terror attacks.
“The activities of terrorist and extremist groups in Ghana, for now, the President said, take the form mainly of fundraising activities by allegedly charitable organisations, which divert these funds to support extremist activities around the world,” he said.
To combat the menace, Ghana, the President reiterated, continues to establish closer ties and good working relations with security organisations in West Africa, in a bid to improve the collaborative framework within the region.
“Ghana is a regular participant in the meetings of the Committee of Intelligence and Security Services of Africa (C.I.S.S.A.), an AU body. The quintet meetings, known as the Accra Initiative, involving security and intelligence heads from Ghana and her neighbouring countries, namely Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Togo and Benin, are also held frequently to review and formulate joint strategies towards combating shared threats on terrorism and violent extremism,” he added.
The President expressed his excitement that the leaders of Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad and Burkina Faso, known as the G5 du Sahel, have launched a multinational force to fight armed groups in the Sahel region, with one battalion each from the five countries.
“The co-ordination of activities between the armed forces and the intelligence agencies of our respective countries is absolutely essential to a successful battle against terrorism,” he noted.
President Akufo-Addo urged others to emulate the example of France, Germany and other members of the European Union in providing assistance to, and, thereby, enhancing the capacity of the G5 du Sahel.