According to conflict resolution and peacebuilding expert, Emmanuel Bombande, “describing northern Ghana as a logistical and medical support base for Sahel jihadists is sensational, costly, and over-exaggerated”.

He was reacting to a Reuters report claiming Ghana’s north had become a logistical and medical base for terror actors.  

Read: Ghana’s northern border becomes logistical hub for Islamist insurgency

He spoke to Joy FM, Friday, October 25, 2024.

The former Board Chair of the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict argued Reuters’ report was misinformed, despite the latter citing sources among diplomats local to Ghana and local security officials – all unnamed.

Mr Bombande noted Ghanaians were increasingly aware of the threats of terrorism through the efforts of security agencies which were intimately collaborating with local communities, especially those vulnerable to violent extremism, via initiatives like the National Security’s ‘See Something, Say Something’.

Formerly a special assistant to the UN Secretary-General’s representative to West Africa, Bombande decried attempts to describe Ghana as a passive participant in the region’s jihadist activities, and its leaders nonchalant to any such threats.

The security expert urged members of the public to maintain their trust and their ‘See Something, Say Something’ collaboration with the country’s security agencies.

He also called on civil society organisations (CSOs) and local communities to remain proactive in conserving the nation’s peace and cohesion.