Upper West region: Security beefed up following gun-in-church scare

Security has been beefed up in Upper West region following the arrest of a gun-wielding Burkinabe at a Catholic Church in Hamile on Sunday.

A member of the church caused the arrest of the man who is believed to be in his 50s after he noticed the pistol on him before church service.

The brave man told Joy News he found the Burkinabe rather suspicious after he inquired about the denomination of the church.

Upon further interrogations, however, the pistol was noticed. Quietly, not wanting to cause any panic as the church service had already started, he called another friend who assisted in sending the Burkinabe to the police station.

The man told police he had come to Hamile to farm.

He has been detained at the Police District Headquarters in Jirapa in the Upper West region as investigations continue.

Ghana is on high alert following terror attacks on its neighbours. Authorities are tightening security at Ghana’s border as a Salafi-Jihadist group based in Burkina Faso attacked and killed residents in February.

The militants on February 15, 2019, killed four Burkinabe customs officers at a checkpoint at Nohao near the Ghana border and burnt three vehicles. They also killed a Spanish priest. Many more of such attacks also occurred in last month.

The security situation in Burkina Faso, Ghana’s neighbour to the north, remains fluid as thousands of Burkinabes throng Ghanaian villages over unrests.

The Africa Center for Security and Intelligence Studies (ACSIS) has also issued a security alert that the Salafi-Jihadist group has been moving in and out of Ghana through the border with Burkina Faso over the past months.

Upper West Regional Minister, Hafiz Bin Salih has said security is being beefed up in the region.

The revelation comes after a Regional Security Council (REGSEC) meeting which had church leaders in the region in attendance.

Dr Salih said a formed police unit and a contingent of military personnel from the air force in Tamale have been brought in to forestall any disaster.

“The Upper West region is safe and we have put out measures to ensure that the safety and security of our people are guaranteed.”

He said having people from Burkina Faso entering and settling in Ghana is not a new thing, “it did not start today, and it did not start yesterday. They started entering the country and settling long ago.”

“There are some people along the border town who have given them lands to settle on and tilt so it is not like it started yesterday and we are panicking. Some of them have lived in some of the communities for three to four years.”

That notwithstanding, Dr Salih said government is doing all it must to ensure the people of the Upper West are safe “and the peace that they enjoy continuous to exist.”

Source: Myjoyonline.com