Minister for Defence Dominic Nitiwul, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bimbilla Constituency, has led a government delegation including some MPs from the Northern Region to the Gbewaa palace in Yendi following some social media comments of a possible Konkomba, Dagomba and Nanumba conflict. Speaking at the Gbewaa palace, the Minister described the information as malicious and treacherous. He revealed that government through the National Security Ministry and other security operatives are tracking down the perpetrators of such information. “We are tracking those people peddling such war mongering information to raise tension and I assure you we will deal with them.” He added, “Konkombas, Dagombas and Nanumbas are brothers and have lived peacefully over the years and so any attempt to distract the peace among these people will be fiercely resisted.” Mr. Nitiwul warned that “henceforth, anybody or group of person’s whose publications, discussions or commentary on the subject matter will seek to influence a possible conflict will be severely dealt with”. He charged all metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives (MMDCEs) in the Region to sensitize their people on the need to live peacefully. Member of Parliament for Yendi Constituency Alhaji Farouk Aliu Mahama applauded the swift intervention by government and called on the youth to desist from acts of war mongering. He indicated that the 1994 Konkomba, Dagomba and Nanumba conflict claimed more lives and any reccurrence will be detrimental to the peace and development of the Region. The Yaa-Naa, Abukari Mahama II, on his part, applauded government for the intervention. He is hopeful government will trace the perpetrators and make them face the full rigours of the law. Source: a1radioonline.com
Press release – CONDUCT THOROUGH INVESTIGATION INTO BREACH OF PRESIDENTIAL SECURITY
The Institute for Intelligence and Strategic Security notes with grave concern recentdevelopments relating to serious breach of security of the President of the Republic, HisExcellency Nana Addo Danquah Akuffo Addo, to wit viral pictures of the president allegedlytaken from the presidential jet and other highly restricted private places by an alleged girl friendof the president one Serwaa Broni. It is particularly worrying that despite the resources available to the national securityapparatus to provide high class security protection for the president and vice-president andtheir spouses, such breach could occur. IISS views this development as having serious potential to undermine the sanctity of theHigh Office of the President of the Republic, dignity of the president and reputation ofGovernment of Ghana, and wish to call on the Bureau of National Intelligence to as matter ofurgency commission investigation to unravel circumstances surrounding this incident andbring officers found to have exhibited unprofessional conduct leading to this unfortunateincident. The Institute also condemns in no uncertain terms the use of social media by the alleged girlfriend and her associates to denigrate the dignity of the President and High Office of thePresident and calls for restraint. The security of the President is a very high national security requirement and should notunder any circumstance be compromised the manner in which it has. IISS by this statementcharges the Ministry of National Security and National Security Council Secretariat to reviewcurrent presidential security arrangements in order to eliminate vulnerabilities andguarantee the highest level of security of the President, Vice President and other class ofpersons as prescribed by law. Additionally, allegations of use of security operatives to cause harm to Serwaa Broni mustbe investigated, and the necessary protection provided her. SignedMoses JatuatDIRECTOR,INSTITUTE FOR INTELLIGENCE AND STRATEGIC SECURITYACCRA-GHANA
Security expert advises security services to devise other means of generating income
The Director at the Institute for Intelligence and Strategic Security, Moses Jatuat has called on security services in the country to devise other creative means of generating income internally other than what he describes as “milking the already unemployed youth under the guise of selling application forms”. His comment came on the back of the recent opening of security services portals for interested Ghanaians to apply, which saw scores of unemployed youth throng to various venues across the country for the recruitment processes. Some of the applicants have to pay Ghs 100.00 for the forms, which according to him, is a deliberate intention to extort monies from the already frustrated unemployed youths in the country. “It appears that and I may not be wrong that, the security services are milking these unemployed people” he stated. Mr. Jatuat who was speaking on ‘Day Break Upper East’ Show on A1 Radio, remarked that there could have been other ways of recruiting the youths into the security services without them having to make payments. According to him, the government should; “Let the security agencies look for innovative ways of making revenue rather than the very cheap way of putting out adverts and calling for people to apply and knowing that they are not going to pick that number and you take their money”. Source: A1Radioonline.com|101.1Mh|Kennedy Duune Zongbil|Ghana
Ministry of Defence meets with CSOs in security sector
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has held discussions with selected security sector Civil Society Organizations and Security Analysts on matters of defence and security policy at the Ministry of Defence Complex in Accra. According to Minister for Defence, Hon. Dominic Nitiwul, the meeting forms part of government’s strategic initiative to engage with various sectors of society at all levels to deepen collaboration and partnership for maintenance of peace and stability, and therefore find the engagement with CSOs in peace and security as very vital to supporting the ministry and other sector ministries through constructive deliberation and sharing of knowledge and experiences. He observed that CSOs and in particular security analysts who serve as voice of the people remain critical in bridging the gap between government and the populace and was therefore grateful that members honoured the invitation and assured of constant engagement on matters of common interest. Commenting on role of the ministry in supporting the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) to discharge its constitutional mandate of defending the territorial integrity of the country, he indicated that government through the MOD had taken measures to improve the operational efficiency and capability of the GAF to tackle emerging threats such as terrorism, violent extremist activities and maritime crime and called for support of all towards safeguarding the country from these threats. On his part, Chief Executive Officer of Security Warehouse Ltd, Mr. Adam Bonaa expressed appreciation for the Minister’s initiative and charged the ministry to work assiduously in safeguarding the country’s borders. He also observed that as security analysts, their role is to scrutinize the sector and make relevant recommendations for the appropriate authorities to implement and that sector CSOs will continue to hold government accountable as far as matters of defense and security are concerned. Dr. Ishmael Norman, President of Institute of Security, Disaster and Emergency Studies (ISDES) charged the minister and government for that matter to pay critical attention to maritime security as recent reports of maritime crime show a phenomenal increase. Other members took turns to raise issues concerning the sector. Also present at the meeting were Deputy Minister of Defence Hon. Kofi Amankwah Manu, Chief Director of the Ministry of Defence Dr. Evans Agbeme Dzikum, Executive Director of West African Center for Counter-Extremism (WACCE), Mr. Mutaru Muqtar, Senior Policy Analyst at Amann Center for Security and Counterterrorism (ACDS-Africa), Mr Moses Jatuat, Program Officer of Institute of Security and Safety Policy Research (ISSAPR), Mr. Derick Nestor Hokey and Executive Director of Bureau of Public Safety Mr. Nana Yaw Akwada.
ISSAPR holds training on elections and security for security agencies and media
The Institute of Security and Safety Policy Research (ISSAPR), a civil society organization and security think tank in collaboration with Jatikay Center for Human Security and Peacebuilding has held a one-day northern sector training and capacity building programme on Election and Security Management for media, security agencies and political party representatives to build their capacities in monitoring and reporting on elections and security related issues. The training program is part of ISSAPR’s nationwide training activities for stakeholders including the media, security agencies, political parties, chiefs, opinion leaders and the youth towards ensuring peace before, during and after the 2020 elections. Participants drawn from various media houses and security agencies including police, prisons, immigration, BNI were taken through topics such as elections and conflicts in Africa, role of media in security and peace building during elections, political patronage and electoral violence and internal security and election monitoring. In a welcome address, Director of Research and Policy Analysis at the Institute, Mr. Moses Jatuat underscored the need for the media and security agencies to exhibit high level of professionalism in the discharge of their functions so as to maintain the existing peace and stability of the region and Ghana as a whole, and was hopeful the training which is being held throughout the country will equip the stakeholders with the necessary skills to provide excellent public service on election and security coverage as the nation inches into the 2020 presidential and parliamentary elections. He charged security agencies and media to collaborate and ensure the best interest of the public is served. The chairman of the event, Alhaji Razak Saani, northern regional director, NCCE commended ISSAPR and Jatikay Center for organizing the workshop in Tamale and emphasized the need for citizen participation in the democratic governance of the country and that the prevalence of freedom and inclusiveness were key to a free democratic society. On her part, Madam Janet Chigabatia of the National Peace Council called for citizens to co-exist peacefully and use appropriate means to address disputes. She further expressed the NPC’s continuous efforts in engaging with all stakeholders in ensuring peace before, during and after the general elections. Mr. Lucas Yieyel, Ag. The Regional Director of the Electoral Commission assured the public of the ECs mandate to ensure free, fair and transparent elections. He also indicated that the Electoral Commission will be undertaking a two-day exhibition exercise in September and urged the public to participate in the exercise so as to compile a credible register for the upcoming 2020 general elections. A representative of the regional police commander, Chief Supt. Issifu Tank Iddrissu assured the public of maximum security during the election processes, adding that the Tamale Metropolitan Election Security Taskforce has mapped out strategies to effectively address security threats from identified conflict hotspots and violence-prone areas in the area. Present at the event were the Northern Regional Director of the National Commission for Civic Education, Alhaji Razak Saani, Acting Northern Regional Director of Electoral Commission, Mr. Lucas Yieyel, representative of National Peace Council, Madam Janet Chigabatia, representative of the Northern regional house of chiefs Kasulana Naa Yakubu Bukari, Vicar-General of the Tamale Catholic Archdiocese, Very Rev. Fr. Mathew Yitiereh, Northern regional Chief Imam, Alhaji Abdul Salam, Head of Ahmaddiya Mission in Tamale, Maulvi Omar Abdul Hakeem, representative of regional police commander, Chief Supt. Issifu Tanko Iddrissu, Northern regional Public Relations Officer of Prisons, DSP David Afatsawu, Officer-In-charge of Tamale Female Prisons, DSP Doris Ameku and Head of enforcement at northern regional immigration command ASI Joseph Sosu. Facilitators of the training event included Mr. Sadiq Adu-twum, Executive Director of the Institute of Security and Safety Policy Research, Mr. Moses Jatuat, Director of Research and Policy Analysis at the Institute of Security and Safety Policy Research, Mr. Adib Saani, Executive Director of Jatikay Center for Human Security and Peacebuilding, and Mr. Albert Yelyang, National Network Co- ordinator of West African Network for Peacebuilding, WANEP-Ghana. Participants at the event expressed satisfaction with the training and called on ISSAPR to organize more of such programmes in issues of conflict, peace security. Source: GhanaWeb
ISSAPR holds a one-day training on Election and Security Reporting
The Institute of Security, Safety and Policy Research, a civil society organization and security think tank has held a one-day training and capacity building programme on Election and Security Reporting for media practitioners in the Greater Accra region to build their capacities in monitoring and reporting on elections and security related issues. The training programme is part of ISSAPR’s nationwide training activities for stakeholders including the media, security agencies, political parties, chiefs and opinion leaders and the youth towards ensuring peace before, during and after the 2020 elections. Participants drawn from various media houses were taken through topics such as role of media in peace and security, elections and conflicts in Africa, role of media in peace building during elections and internal security and election monitoring. Speaking at the event, the Director of Research, Policy Analysis and Training at the Institute, Mr. Moses Jatuat underscored the need for the media to exhibit high level of professionalism in security and election reportage so as to help in maintaining the existing peace and stability of Ghana and was hopeful the training which will be held throughout the country will equip media professionals with the necessary skills to provide excellent reportage on election and security coverage as the nation inches into the 2020 presidential and parliamentary elections. Facilitators of the training event included Security Analyst and Chief Executive Officer of Kazz Group, Mr. Adam Bonaa, Lawyer and Lecturer in Security and Intelligence at the University of Professional Studies, Mr. Sammy Darko, Executive Director of Jatikay Center for Human Security and Peacebuilding, Mr. Adib Saani, and Executive Director of the Institute of Security, Safety and Policy Research, Mr. Sadiq Adu-Twum. Participants at the event expressed satisfaction with the training and called on ISSAPR to organize more such programmes to equip the media in Ghana in issues of conflict, peace security. Source: GhanaWeb
Media urged to promote national cohesion ahead of elections
Wa, Nov. 14, GNA – Dr Hafiz Bin Salih, the Upper West Regional Minister has appealed to the media to promote national cohesion and peace-building before, during, and after the December 7 elections. By this, he admonished the media to desist from carrying reports that would divide and threaten the peace of the country, saying, “It is a truism that the media can make or destroy this country”, therefore the need for the media to be circumspect in their reportage. Dr Bin Salih made the appeal to the media in a speech read on his behalf by Mr Gilbert Nuuri-teg, the Regional Coordinating Director during the opening of a workshop on election and security for regional stakeholders towards a peaceful 2020 general elections. The programme, a collaborative venture between Aman Centre for Democracy, Security, and Counter-Terrorism in Africa (ACDS-Africa) and Jatikay Center for Human Security and Peace-building is part of nationwide capacity building activities for relevant stakeholders including the media, security agencies, political parties, chiefs and youth groups towards peaceful 2020 elections. Dr Bin Salih noted that the training would undoubtedly contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals 16 (SDG 16), which was aimed at ensuring peace, justice, and strong accountable democratic institutions for security, stability, and national cohesion. He said Ghana had a record of holding several successful Presidential and Parliamentary Elections in the Fourth Republic without any major incident, adding that this had no doubt earned the country respect from the international community. “Even in cases where there were issues with the election results, the aggrieved parties and individuals resorted to the law courts and not violence to resolve their grievances”, he said and stressed that they needed to sustain the record. The Regional Minister whilst admonishing relevant stakeholders to play their various roles effectively to ensure successful and peaceful elections, also assured that the Regional Security Council would put in place adequate security measures to ensure peaceful political campaigns leading to peaceful polls in the region on December 7. Mr Moses Jatuat, Director, Research and Policy Analysis, ACDS-Africa, noted that issues of elections were becoming a serious threat to the security and civility of nations across the globe of which Ghana was not an exception. He, therefore, added that efforts such as the training of stakeholders allowed them to redouble efforts towards consolidating the democratic gains chalked by the nation. Delivering a presentation on the topic “Role of the media in Security and Peace-building during elections”, Mr Adib Saani, Executive Director, Jatikay Center for Human Security and Peace-building admonished the media to be very mindful in conflict-sensitive reporting to protect social cohesion. He said the practice of engaging in sensationalism to sell had the potential to cause social disintegration and therefore encouraged media houses to prioritize the general good of society over the interest of the media house. “When wrong, eat the humble pie, retract and apologize”, Mr Saani advised. “In this election, accuracy, fairness, balanced and responsible reportage is highly important and the media must therefore desist from relying on unofficial sources for election results adding that verification of information on social media was extremely key to avoid misinformation”. Source: Ghana News Agency
Improve Intelligence Co-ordination to enhance national security – Security Analyst
Security analyst and director of the Institute for Intelligence and Strategic Security, Moses Jatuat has called the National Security Council to address intelligence and national security coordination challenges facing the security agencies. Moses Jatuat observed this in his analysis of the report of the committee of inquiry into the Ejura shooting incidents that claimed lives and the destruction of properties. The security analyst is of the view that, though the Government enacted the Security and Intelligence Agencies Act, 2020 (Act 1030) to address the deficiencies in then Act 526, there was the need to pay attention to security coordination at the regional security councils and district security councils. He noted that the position and role of the Regional Security Co-ordinator were still vague and called immediate rectification of the anomaly to enable the various regional security coordinators to be relevant to the mandate of REGSECs. While condemning the action of the Regional Minister in taking decisions without advice from REGSEC as mandated by law, he described a situation whereby the regional minister, regional security coordinator, and the regional commander of the National Intelligence Bureau independently collect intelligence as duplication.
Ejura shooting incident committee report: A case of intelligence failure or lack of intelligence co-ordination.
Analytical Perspective on Ghana’s Intelligence Management Practices September 28, 2021. The increasing demand for valuable intelligence in support of law enforcement and conduct of national security and diplomacy requires adequate investments in building intelligence capability to counter threats to peace and security. While many countries continue to initiate reforms to position their security services in response to emerging threats, issue of intelligence management continue to pose challenge to national security managers. In assessing this subject in relation to the employment of intelligence as security management tool in some notable violent incidents in the country, I have examined reports of the Ejura Shooting Committee and Ayawaso West Wuogon Shooting Commission reports. It is worth noting that in both instances, the said operations that led to injuries and/or deaths and destruction of properties were said to have been intelligence-led, bringing to question the value or quality of intelligence available to security managers and the instruments used in dealing with the threats identified. Indeed, the Ayawaso Commission, like the Ejura Committee could not establish the existence of any intelligence as basis for operational deployments, and also lack of co-ordination among heads of security agencies and among field operatives. The Ejura Committee makes interesting findings about lack of co-ordination of security activites among the various actors, police, military, and Regional Security Council (REGSEC), leading to the escalated violence that claimed lives and properties. Of critical importance are findings No. 21, 22 and 23 bothering on information of possible violence and how that information was handled to avert the occurrence. While the committee doubted such intelligence was available to the district security authorities, it also found that there was no co-ordination of security activities, leading to the shootings. It is clear from the evidence of the security chiefs at the district and regionals levels ie District Police Commander, Deputy Regional Police Commander, Regional Security Liaison Officer and Regional Minister (Chairman of REGSEC), that there was no professional handling on information and/or intelligence if any at all was available. This finding is further re-enforced by media pronouncements of the regional minister of having personally ordered the deployment of the military to Ejura based on his own intelligence received from undisclosed sources in Ejura. The national security architecture as elaborated in Security and Intelligence Agencies Act, 2020 (Act 1030) makes REGSECs and DISECs part of the national security management structures. The Act makes these bodies responsible for pre-empting breaches to peace and security, and taking appropriate measures to safeguard security at the regional and district levels. Like the National Security Council, REGSECs and DISECs have representations from the various security agencies with the regional ministers and district chief executives as chairpersons. In same manner as the President has at his disposal intelligence and security advice from the National Security Council through the National Security Co-ordinator and inputs from members of the Council, same is expected of the regional minister and DCE. It is instructive to note that the role played by the Bureau of National Intelligence (NIB) which is the primary domestic intelligence organization was lost on the committee as neither the District Officer NIB nor the Regional Commander NIB was invited to testify. These officers are key in terms of providing early warning information and intelligence to DISEC and REGSEC on developments that pose threats to peace and security of their areas of commands. It was therefore expected that NIB intelligence would have been fed to DISEC and REGSEC on planned violence by youth of the area to enable the needed action by the appropriate agency. It is therefore strange in the scheme of things that the Chairman of REGSEC claimed publicly in the media and in his evidence before the committee that he personally ordered the deployment of military and that he relied on ‘intelligence’ received from his own undisclosed sources in Ejura. This is condemnable and affront to established standards in security management, where it was expected that REGSEC will have provided him with advice based on professional intelligence analysis and security assessment by the appropriate security agency and inputs from professional representatives on REGSEC. It is normal in practice that in operational circumstances quick decisions are taken to direct enforcement action, and the intelligence system should be well placed to handle such situations rather than the regional minister relying on unevaluated intelligence sources to take such critical decision as use of military in quelling civil disorder. It is without doubt, based on the committee’s findings that REGSEC at that instance collapsed, leaving the regional minister to rely on his own non-professional intelligence assessment in intervening in the Ejura disturbances, further worsening the situation and this calls for grave concern. A further demonstration of weak intelligence and security co-ordination is the undefined role of government appointed Regional Security Liaison Officer (Regional Security Co-ordinator) whose position within the national security management structure is still vague. While the National Security Co-ordinator who is head of the security and intelligence community, has control over the NIB and other national intelligence agencies such as the Research Department (foreign intelligence agency) and National Signals Bureau (communication and signal intelligence agency) to whom these agencies submit intelligence reports, the Regional Security Co-ordinator in practice has no such power over the Regional Commander NIB. This makes the Regional Security Co-ordinator bereft of actual intelligence reports except briefings provided by Regional Commander NIB at REGSEC sittings. In his evidence before the committee, the Regional Security Co-ordinator detailed his functions as collecting and transmitting intelligence to National Security Council Secretariat through sources he cultivates in the districts. It is evident from these revelations that there is duplication of collection functions at the regional level such that the Regional Commander NIB, Regional Security Co-ordinator and Regional Minister independently collect and disseminate intelligence. The disjointed relationship between the Regional Security Co-ordinator and regional minister is an anomaly that needs to be rectified. In addition to this, is the fact that the Regional Security Co-ordinator does not have power over the Regional Commander NIB unlike
Establish criminal intelligence branch within police to combat crime – Security Analyst
A security analyst Moses Jatuat has called on the government to establish a Criminal Intelligence Branch within the Ghana Police service to combat crime and threats to peace and security. The security analyst who is also the Director of the Institute for Intelligence and Strategic Security and President of the Ghana Chapter of the International Association of Law Enforcement Intelligence Analysts observed this in his analysis of the Ejura Shooting Incident Committee Report released by the government. He called on the ministries of national security and interior to expedite action on building the criminal intelligence capability of the police and other law enforcement agencies like the prisons. Moses Jatuat noted that the current arrangement where personnel of the Criminal Investigation Department served as intelligence officers did not allow for effective intelligence gathering as the practice compromised their operational cover and identities, and therefore recommended the restructuring of the Police Intelligence Directorate into a Criminal Intelligence Branch of the Police with all criminal intelligence functions transferred to the new unit. his he maintained will go a long way to enhance intelligence-led policing to secure the nation. Source: Ghanaweb
