The Upper East Regional Minister, Stephen Yakubu, says inhabitants of the region are confident and calm following President Akufo-Addo’s pledge to ensure their safety, over reports of a possible terrorist attack by Burkinabe bandits in the area.

This development left many residents of the region in fear and on high alert.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has however assured residents of border towns in the Upper East Region of intensified security to ward off the potential threat.

The President was speaking during a working visit to the Upper East Region on Monday, which saw him commission a newly constructed building for the Bolgatanga East District Assembly.

Speaking to Citi News, the Regional Minister said the President’s assurance to deal with the potential security threat is satisfying.

“There are security issues that we do not want to speak about in public, but we have been briefed about the measures that the Upper East Regional Security Council has put in place. The President at the national level also knows what is happening in the region and as a father of the country, he has come and assured us of security against those threats”, Stephen Yakubu stressed.

President Akufo-Addo also announced that the government is moving to establish a permanent military base in Bawku.

The project is part of measures to tackle incessant crimes in the region.

According to the President, the selection of Bawku for the base is a result of its proximity to the Ghana-Burkina Faso border.

“[The Bawku Municipality] is an “obvious potential target for murderers and criminals who may want to destabilize and terrorize the lives of the people,” Nana Addo said.
Following the happenings in Burkina Faso, Ghana’s Interior Minister, Ambrose Dery, has stated that the government is working on securing the country’s borders over reports of potential terrorist attacks in Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region, and Tamale in the Northern Region.

Mr. Dery says the borders will remain closed and tightly guarded by the military and police to keep citizens safe.

“We currently have a combined operation of the army, police, and Immigration. We also have the Northern Border Project. We have already closed the borders, but the fact is that most of them are porous, so we are doing a lot to cover all those porous borders. We are not going to open the borders until we are sure it is safe enough to do so.”

The police’s internal memo indicated that the bandits, who are in possession of military-grade weapons, infiltrated the country “at yet to be identified locations in the Northern Regions and are poised to launch the attack any moment from now.”

All regional commanders have been directed to increase patrols to quell the attacks.

In May 2019, hundreds of victims of terrorist attacks in neighbouring Burkina Faso sought refuge in Ghana, according to officials of the Sissala East Municipal Assembly in the Upper West Region.