Africa-Press – Ghana. Colonel Tim Bataabanah, Director of Counter-Terrorism and Fusion Centre, Ministry of National Security has called on security agencies to work hard to earn the trust of the people to help in the fight against crime.
He was speaking at the 3rd National Dialogue on Preventing Electoral Violence and Providing Security to the Northern Border Regions of Ghana (NORPREVSEC) project held in Tamale on Wednesday.
The event, attended by various stakeholders, was to engage, educate and empower the citizenry to acknowledge the fact that violent extremism and political instability in neighbouring countries were not far from the country.
It was organised by the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) with support from the European Union on the theme: Violent Extremism and Political Instability in West Africa: Implications for Ghana”. The NORPREVSEC project seeks to amongst others counter violent extremism in the country.
The dialogue became necessary following research conducted by the NCCE entitled: “Risk/Threat Analysis of Violent Extremism in 10 Border Regions of Ghana”, which revealed unemployment, porous borders, and poor surveillance as part of factors that made the country vulnerable to terrorist violence.
Col. Bataabanah noted that recent events where some citizens clashed with some security personnel in the country were not healthy for a collaborative fight against terrorism expressing need for an all-society approach in the fight against terrorism where the security agencies and the citizenry would trust each other and work together towards a common a goal.
Madam Janet Adama Mohammed, West Africa Programme Director at Conciliation Resources called for continued dialogue between the youth and security agencies to promote peace while fighting crime in communities.
Madam Mohammed called on the security agencies to identify insecurity signs in the communities and put in place strategies in terms of how to effectively respond to them to avoid clashes or acts that could disturb the peace of communities. She emphasised that, “let us deal with our internal conflicts quickly as they emerge and prepare for the bigger fight; violent extremism.”
Professor Emmanuel Kwesi Aning, Director of Faculty of Academic Affairs and Research at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre expressed need for effective collaboration amongst the various security agencies to better perform their functions to protect the State and the citizenry.
Madam Josephine Nkrumah, Chairperson of the NCCE emphasised need to create opportunities for the youth such that they would not be misled into groups or acts with terrorist tendencies. GNA
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