The Ministry of National Security has intensified its “see something, say something” campaign across border communities in the Upper East Region to monitor and avert the intrusion of violent extremists into the country.
According to the Ministry, the campaign is aimed at creating awareness and alertness among community members to report suspicious characters living in their communities to security agencies to help curb the menace of violent extremists.
Speaking to Citi News, Head of Client Services at the Ministry of National Security, Akosua Ntim Sekyere, underscored the need for community members at border areas to be vigilant and security conscious at all times by sharing intelligence with security agencies to help in tackling the menace of violent extremism.
“It has become important because of what is happening in our neighbouring countries—Togo, Burkina Faso, and the like. As we all know, about two weeks ago, we had an influx of refugees coming in. We can’t be sure who is coming in, even though some come in with the status of refugees. You can’t look at someone’s face and tell their intentions. That’s why we need to sensitize them to be aware of the dangers that come with this. And their roles as citizens to help safeguard national security.”
Mrs. Sekyere further expressed concern at the rate of prank calls to the Ministry and admonished Ghanaians to only call when they see suspicious activity or characters.
“The whole idea of the campaign is for people to report suspicious activities. So, if you call without a valid report, it means you’re preventing someone else from getting through. Because sometimes the calls are queued. If you’re on the line and someone at the call center is attending to you, someone else will be waiting. You know how the system works. We’ve all heard the jingles.
She added, “Patience will run out for whoever is calling to volunteer that information. So, we try to discourage people from calling when they don’t have anything valid to say. The system works, that point is emphasized. It’s not a trial-and-error system. The call center works 24/7 effectively, and we have people on night and day duty. So, there’s no point calling to find out if the call center is really operational or not. That’s why we’re pleading with Ghanaians to stop pranking by asking if they can get some call credit. It’s time we took this seriously. This is a national assignment. It has no political affiliation or anything like that. You owe it as a duty, and I owe it as a duty to help safeguard national security.”
