A retired Ghanaian police officer and a Member of Parliament for Wa West constituency, Peter Lanchene Toobu has said that the government should be careful not to cause fear and panic while issuing security alerts over potential terrorist attacks.
He called on the government to use religious leaders to sensitise their congregants, about the activities and threats of extremist groups in the sub-region.
Speaking to Beatrice Adu on The Big Bulletin on Tuesday (17 May), Toobu said, “let’s be careful not to be the ones creating the fear and panic because terrorists always have the intention of creating fear and panic; that’s always the tool for them to use. So, when they succeed in creating fear and panic, they have the opportunity to activate their system to harm the people.”
“So, whatever the government is doing, the government should not take any step that will create fear and panic in the country. I’m saying this because Ghana is not a security-conscious country. So, if we’re not security conscious and you [government] begin to tell us what we need to do immediately, you create fear and panic.”
He added that “what I expect the government to be doing now is to sensitise the people enough; sometimes in-house sensitisation is better than press releases. There’s nothing wrong with calling the Imam, some pastors and some key leaders, take them through a day or two of a workshop, let them see the reality of how terrorism is moving downwards, and let them understand.”
Homegrown terrorist threats
According to him, “many of the things we’re seeing within the sub-region, many of them are homegrown. Homegrown in Nigeria, homegrown in Mali, homegrown in Burkina Faso, homegrown terrorist activities. Do we have such an environment prevailing in the country? Such that we can have a Ghana grown terrorist organisation? Or we’re basically looking at the possibility of a transnational attack?”
Meanwhile, the Ministry of National Security has warned religious groups in the country against a possible terrorist attack, an official statement has said.
The West Africa Centre For Counter-Extremism (WACCE) had already warned of a possible terrorist attack in Ghana.
A statement issued by the ministry on Friday (13 May) however assured the public measures are being rolled out to safeguard the peace and security of the country.
“In view of the growing threats of terrorism from the subregion and the expansionist drive of terrorist groups towards Coastal West African states, with a renewed modus operandi of targeting public gatherings including places of worship, it is imperative that precautional measures are taken by all stakeholders.” the statement said.
“Although the above directive has become necessary, the Ministry of National Security assures you of our continuous resolve to institute measures aimed at safeguarding the peace and security of the country,” it added.
Source: Asaase Radio