By Stanley Senya
Accra, Sept. 24, GNA – Fifty customs counter-terrorism officers have been trained to safeguard the nation’s borders from the ever-present threat of terrorism.
The training has equipped the officers with special principles that will guide them to work with integrity, courage, discipline and teamwork for effective cross-border enforcement.
Mr Kenneth Baye, Chief Revenue Officer, Customs Preventive of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), said the officers were trained to deter, detect, and disrupt the illegal movements of goods, funds and individuals across borders that could be used to support acts of terrorism.
He said the training would help safeguard the lives and well-being of citizens, ensuring that they could live in peace and security.
He said this at the closing ceremony of customs counter-terrorism officers training programme at the 64 Infantry Regiment Training School in Asutsuare.
Mr Baye noted that the training programme was a timely step as the threat of terrorism was so close to our borders than never before.
However, he said officers must uphold justice, maintain the rule of law, and portray an act of confidence and vigilance to scare terrorist suspects.
“Your training has equipped you with the skills, knowledge, and resilience needed to excel in this noble mission. Trust in your training, trust in your team, and trust in yourselves”, he said.
He encouraged officers to continue to uphold the values that define their profession, make profound difference in the security and protect the wellbeing of the nation.
Mr Benjamin Bekai, Commander of the Customs Counter-Terrorism Unit of GRA, said choosing to be with the Unit was a commitment to a higher purpose, a vow and sacrifices to protect the country from those who seek to distupt the nations way of life.
He said the trainees demonstrated exceptional qualities of integrity, courage, dedication, and a deep sense of duty that aligned perfectly with the values that defined the Unit.
Mr Bekai said the training had equipped them with the skills, attitude and knowledge needed to excel in their roles, adding that it has instilled in them a sense of duty, a deep understanding of the importance of their mission, and a steadfast determination to carry it out with honour and integrity.
“You are reminded of your duty to be bound by a common purpose, obey reasonable instructions, united by a shared commitment to protect our nation, and guided by the principles that define us,” he added.
Mr Daniel Osei Bonsu, Deputy Director of National Counter-Terrorism Fusion Centre, Ministry of National Security, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said the country needed to keep building capacities, and be resilient in terms of the prevailing conditions around our borders.
Hence the training was important to ensure security and robust response to terrorism threats.
He said the Ministry of National Security was executing its mandates regarding issues of violent extremism, radicalisation and terrorism.
The country currently sits at the preventive stage therefore the training was a priority and time bound to protect our borders.
He said the Ministry would make the preventive measures a kinetic approach, thus implementing policies such as the “See Something Say Something” initiative to make the fight of terrorism a non-weaponize affair.
Mr Bonsu called on all stakeholders, individuals and especially security agencies to enforce policies to counter border and security threats.
The selection was made based on regional distribution, giving priority to the northern borders due to high threats.
The trained officers would be distributed across the country to execute their duties to ensure safety at all border checkpoints.
GNA