The Ministry of National Security has taken the ‘See Something, Say Something’ campaign to the Upper East Region to sensitise residents on the need to be always security conscious.
The Ministry engaged Chiefs, opinion leaders, youth Association leaders, drivers, tricycle riders and residents at border towns across the Region on the campaign, which was intended to whip up security consciousness in residents.
The ‘See something, say something’ campaign was launched in 2022 to draw the attention of citizens to report suspicious characters or activities within their respective communities to security agencies for action.
The three-day sensitisation campaign tour of the Region was part of measures to check any infiltration of Jihadists or violent extremists from neighbouring countries into Ghana.
A team of officials from the Ministry, led by Mrs Akosua Ntim-Sekyere, the Head of Client Service, visited and interacted with Chiefs and opinion leaders at Pusiga, Kulungugu, Zebilla, Bongo, Paga and rounded-up the campaign at Wiaga, in the Builsa North Municipality.
At one of the sensitisation meetings at the Bonaba’s Palace in the Bongo District, Mrs Ntim-Sekyere told the Chiefs and people of the Traditional Area that the campaign was necessary owing to the happenings in Burkina Faso and Togo among other African countries.
She recalled that there was influx of refugees in the Region and said: ‘We cannot be sure who is coming in, even though most of them come with the status of refugees.
‘You cannot look at someone’s face and tell his intentions, so, we need to sensitize community members to be aware of the dangers that come with such, and your role as citizens to safeguard national security,’ the Client Service Head told stakeholders at Bongo.
Mrs Ntim-Sekyere urged residents in the District through the Traditional Council to call 999, a toll-free number and report any suspicious activities or persons in their communities for action, noting that ‘Security is a shared responsibility; we all need to get involved.’
She cautioned members of the public against prank calls and advised that callers should endeavour to render accurate information with vivid description of any suspicious character or activity they might have seen and the location, without giving out their identity.
Mrs Ntim-Sekyere further cautioned that persons who called to report issues at the centre should not brag but remain quiet if action was taken on the issue reported.
‘When you see action taken on an issue you call to report, do not go about bragging. When you do that, you may be exposing your life to danger. Just remain quiet and allow the security agencies to do their work,’ she admonished.
The Paramount Chief of the Bongo Traditional Area, Bonaba Baba Salifu Atamale Aleemyarum, stressed on the need for security issues to be taken seriously in order to protect the country from Jihadists attack.
‘We have to be very careful and do our part as citizens to protect our country from these Jihadists,’ the Paramount Chief said.
Mr Ayambire Abdulai Yakubu, a watchdog committee leader in the district, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that the Committee worked in partnership with the Police to ensure the district was calm and peaceful.
He said the Committee would step-up its activities and be more vigilant to help the Ministry achieve the campaign target in the Bongo District.
Source: Ghana News Agency
