The Upper West Regional Crime Officer, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Reynolds Manteaw has urged Ghanaians to take serious interest in their personal and neighbourhood security issues to maintain peace.
He said individual security was one of the cardinal security principles that would help sustain and strengthen national security, the lack of which could pose a threat to Ghana’s territorial security.
‘Ghanaians must be security conscious and participate actively in security issues particularly issues of self and neighbourhood protection to promote sustainable peace,’ he said.
He has therefore charged the citizens who he said were the first line of contact with violent extremists and terrorists to be extremely sensitive and always adhere to and practice individual security to enhance the efforts of the police to protect the prevailing peace for growth and development.
ACP Manteaw made this statement at an engagement with students of Nusrat Jahan Ahmadiyya College of Education on, ‘Preventing violent extremism in Ghana’ to raise awareness and sensitise the students on the activities of violent extremists and terrorists.
The Regional Crime Officer warned the students against providing details and personal information on social media, which terrorists could use to trace and attack them.
He advised the students to be vigilant and monitor the movement and activities of suspicious characters who come around the college environment and those they live with and report them to the security agencies.
He said the civilian population constituted a greater proportion of Ghana’s population, and therefore their cooperation and collaboration with the security agencies working together for the security of the country would no doubt make Ghana a stable country.
Mr Abu Dokuwie Alhassan, the Executive Director of Capacity Enhancement and Community Support (CAPECS) advised the youth to be nationalistic and patriotic and stand against violent extremists no matter the problems and challenges they were faced with.
He appealed to stakeholders to resolve all protracted conflicts amicably and on time to stop extremists and terrorists from taking advantage of them to establish local collaborators to disturb the peace.
He called on the government to address the unemployment situation by creating job opportunities for the youth, many of whom were unemployed to avert them from being recruited into extremist and terrorist groups.
Madam Lucille H. Annan, Acting Secretary of the NCCE advised the youth to be wary of people who give out charity to them because those gifts could serve as bait to lure and brainwash them into joining their groups.
She urged people to remember their house numbers to always give vivid information of their locations to the security agencies in case he or she was under attack.
‘Our security is our interest. Let us take our security into our own hands and endeavour to give the security agencies information if we see something unusual going on in the community,’ she advised.
Mr Victor Nuworkpor, the Upper West Regional Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) said violent extremists and terrorists had hit hard on Ghana’s neighbouring countries creating hardships and disorders to the people.
He said the NCCE was therefore engaging with the people educating them not to allow extremists and terrorists to take advantage of the numerous conflict situations to destroy the peace of the country.
He advised the students to always preach peace and peaceful co-existence devoid of ethnic and religious sentiments or rancour.
Source: Ghana News Agency
