The National Security has cautioned churches across the country against possible terrorist attacks.
The caution by the National Security comes on the back of the activities of terrorist groups in neighbouring West African countries
The National Security has however, indicated that measures have been put in place to foil terrorist attacks.
Measures put in place include, engaging services of accredited private security agencies an installation of Closed-Circuit Televisions (CCTVs).
A statement issued by the National Security said: “In view of the growing threats of terrorism from the sub-region and the expansionist drive of terrorist groups towards Coastal West African states, with a renewed modus operandi of targeting public gatherings including places of worship, it is imperative that precautionary measures are taken by all stakeholders.”
A report released by the West Africa Centre for Counter Extremism (WACCE) noted that: “Ghana’s first recorded case was Nazir Alema Nortey3 , a young university graduate, who shockingly left the country in august 2015 to join ISIS before sending a message back to his parents to announce his new found cause.
“He was killed in Syria by April 2016. Professor Kofi Awoonor, a renowned Ghanaian poet and academic, was killed in the West Gate Mall attack in Nairobi, Kenya when Al Shabab fighters besieged the mall in 2013.”
The report also note that: “Even though the fatality numbers are presently down from the peak of over 7,200 in the region in 2014, the threat has increased in complexity and geographical spread. Today 53% of all ECOWAS now been encircled by the threat. These developments are dangerous for Ghana.
“Ghana’s proximity to these countries (Burkina Faso to the North, Benin and Togo to the East and Ivory Coast to the West) exposes the country to extremist recruitment or attacks or both.”
It added: “Unending Bawku chieftaincy conflict, the ethnic tensions in Northern Ghana and the unresolved challenge of Western Togoland separatists in the Eastern border regions amplify the risks.”
—classfm
