Sahel terror threat reaches Ghana’s door, GIS meets Italy, UN to fortify northern borders as extremists creep south.
The Comptroller-General of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), Samuel Basintale Amadu, has led a delegation of senior officers to a meeting with the Director of the Central Directorate of Prevention of the Italian Polizia di Stato and representatives of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) to discuss growing security threats in the Sahel and coastal West Africa. The discussions focused on risks posed by violent extremist groups, transnational organised crime, irregular migration, arms smuggling, and cross-border criminal networks, with particular concern about the vulnerability of Ghana’s northern borders due to instability in neighbouring Sahelian countries. The GIS reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening border surveillance, intelligence-led operations, and inter-agency cooperation, while Italian authorities and the UNOCT shared best practices in counter-terrorism, border management, and specialised training. The meeting also reviewed progress on the Italy–Ghana–UNOCT Border Security and Management Cooperation project, including training programmes and capacity-building initiatives at the Immigration Tactical Training School, with all parties pledging continued collaboration to enhance Ghana’s border security and regional counter-terrorism efforts.
