The Upper East Regional Minister, Stephen Yakubu, says the security agencies are on high alert to deal with threats posed by terrorists to destabilize the peace of the region and country as a whole.
Yakubu says following the rise in insecurity in neighbouring Burkina Faso and other West African countries, the government has employed several measures, including an increase in the presence of security service personnel at Ghana’s borders, to keep them safe from a possible spillover of terrorist activities.
The minister, who was speaking on the recent reported incident of a suspected jihadist attack near the Pusiga district, said the government has provided logistics to support the security agencies in combatting terrorism in the region.
“Upper East is very close to Burkina Faso and Togo and even before the coup d’état in Burkina Faso, the region had been very high alert following the security threats from jihadists from Mali and other areas. So, we have also been monitoring our borders to make sure that anything that happens, we convey the message to Accra.
“The president is very aware of what is happening in the region and has been helping the region in terms of logistics to make sure that our borders are very secure.”
“No attack on Ghanaians”
Yakubu explained that the reported attack near the Pusiga district did not target the Ghanaian community as was carried in the media. He said the attack happened at a mining site in a community outside Ghana’s territory.
“What happened about three days ago was actually something that happened in Burkina Faso but very close to the border in the Pusiga District. It is a galamsey site … and the information we have is that these jihadists stormed the place and killed some security men there who are not Ghanaians. Our boys and wives that are working there fled and came home.”
“They were about six of them with seven children. These people were not refugees, they were not Burkinabes. They were citizens who had run back to the country,” he said.
He allayed the fears of the residents and urged them to be vigilant as they go about their daily activities,
Yakubu urged the residents to also report suspicious characters to the appropriate quarters for the necessary action to be taken.
“With the support of the President, the security services have had a lot of logistics to help them keep the peace in the region and also ensure our borders are very secure.
As people go about their normal duties, they should be very vigilant. If you see anybody who enters your town and you are not very sure, please report the person or alert the security services so that they can verify and deal with the matter.”
Senyalah Castro
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