Ghanaians urged to volunteer information about arms dealers

The Chairman of the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) Dr. Baffour Dokyi Amoah has charged Ghanaians not to hesitate to inform the security agencies about people who are dealing in illegal arms trade.

“Security is a shared responsibility so if you see someone dealing in illegal arms you have to inform the security agencies for them to take action,” Dr Amoah charged.

According to him, it will be unpatriotic on the party of any Ghanaian who has information about those dealing in illegal arms to conceal the information since illegal arms are used to fuel conflict.

Dr. Amoah’s call follows the arrest of three Ghanaians and one Burkinabe at Alabar a suburb of Kumasi with 10G3s, 11 AK47s and bolt of an M16 which can be used to shoot down planes at short distance.

The guns were reportedly heading to Burkina Faso.

It is the biggest arms haul by the Ashanti regional police command.

In June, customs officials in Kumasi intercepted arms comprising nine AK 47 rifles, a loaded pistol and 281 rounds of AK47 ammunition from neighboring Ivory Coast.

A dialogue on small arms violence organized by the Kofi Annan International Peace Keeping Training Centre recently revealed that more that 1.3 million weapons believed to have been smuggled into the country are not registered.

Speaking to Oman News, Dr. Amoah, who is also a former president of the West Africa Action Network on Small Arms (WAANSA), described the developments as worrying, particularly when the country was approaching 2016 which is election year.

“How were these guns brought into Kumasi? Dr Amoah quizzed.

Dr Amoah who expressed doubt that the arms may have pass through the border post called for full scale investigations into the issue in order to ascertain how it was brought into the country and for which purposes.

Story by: Michael Creg Afful

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