Interior Minister warns of rising security threats, calls for coordinated action

The Minister for the Interior, Mr. Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, has drawn attention to the growing and increasingly complex security threats confronting Ghana and the West African sub-region, warning that terrorism and violent extremism continue to cause serious risks.

Speaking on the opening of the High-Level Consultative Conference on Regional Cooperation on Thursday, in Accra, Mr. Muntaka noted the intensification of terrorist activities in the Central Sahel, where affiliates of Sahara-based extremist groups and other armed actors are exploiting governance gaps, inter-communal tensions, economic hardship and climate-related pressures to expand their influence.

According to the Minister, these threats are not isolated but deeply rooted in long-standing structural vulnerabilities.

He identified climate-induced resource scarcity, rising youth unemployment, weak border management and the erosion of social cohesion as key factors fueling insecurity across the region.

“The growing burden of transnational crimes, including illegal migration, smuggling, drug trafficking and cybercrime, continue to exert pressure on Ghana’s security architecture”, the minister stated.

He revealed that intelligence-led operations have recorded notable successes in countering some of these threats.

The minister called on security and intelligence chiefs to intensify efforts to address the challenges, stressing the need to protect citizens from what he described as an existential threat to national and regional stability.

Mr. Muntaka urged stakeholders to ensure that proposed recommendations are practical and people-centred.

He emphasized the importance of building public trust, strengthening inter-agency coordination, promoting local ownership of security initiatives, avoiding duplication of efforts, and leveraging existing regional mechanisms.

Mr. Muntaka stressed the need for sustainable solutions that respond directly to the needs of citizens, particularly those living in frontier and vulnerable communities.

Judith Twumwaa, ISD