Alhaji Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, Minister of Interior, has called on West African security stakeholders to intensify efforts to combat illicit firearms trafficking in the sub-region.
“Let us build a West Africa where illicit firearms no longer flow freely across our borders, where security forces are equipped and empowered, and where our people live without fear.”
“This is our collective mission, and we must see it through with unity, integrity, and urgency,” he stated at the opening of the three-day KAFO VI Operational Training Regional Planning Meeting in Accra.
Organised by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the meeting convened experts, INTERPOL, Customs officials, and Small Arms Commission representatives to strengthen strategies against arms trafficking and enhance regional security.
KAFO VI is a cross-border initiative tackling firearms trafficking, terrorism, and other illicit activities across Ghana, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Togo.
Alhaji Muntaka commended UNODC for its Global Firearms Programme and its partnership with regional governments in the fight against illegal arms trade.
He expressed gratitude to Germany for its financial support, describing it as “essential and commendable.”
The Minister warned that the proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) was no longer a symptom of instability but had become a driver of violence.
“From terrorist attacks in vulnerable border zones to violent crimes in our cities and rural communities, the presence of illicit firearms has escalated the level of threat across West Africa.
“These weapons do not recognise borders. They are carried by traffickers who thrive on our divisions, exploit our weaknesses, and undermine our collective peace,” he noted.
Alhaji Muntaka stressed that the meeting was a call to action, not a routine session, reaffirming the region’s commitment to bold and strategic interventions.
He said Operation KAFO V provided key insights into smuggling routes, trafficking profiles, and enforcement gaps, which KAFO VI aims to build upon.
“KAFO VI is our opportunity to take that progress further. This operation is not only about interdiction. It is about strategic prevention. It is about understanding the threat before it reaches our borders. It is about empowering law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and customs agents with data, training, and cooperation mechanisms they need to act decisively and legally,” he added.
He praised efforts to promote gender inclusion in the operation and urged greater representation of women at all levels—from planning to execution.
The Minister assured that work would continue beyond the meeting, including regional training, national capacity-building, and standardised operational tools.
He cautioned that inaction had a high human cost, stating that every unseized firearm could cost a life, break up a family, or destabilise a community.
Mr. Christoph Capelle, Acting Head of the UNODC Office in Ghana, described the meeting as a key milestone in UNODC’s partnership with West African nations against organised crime.
He said UNODC had helped Ghana finalise its first national strategy against organised crime (2025–2030), under the Justice and Interior Ministries, addressing corruption, illicit financial flows, maritime crime, drug trafficking, and small arms proliferation.
“The illegal trafficking of firearms fuels violence, destabilises communities, undermines the rule of law, and threatens the very fabric of our societies,” Mr Capelle stated.
He urged strategic, cross-border cooperation to counter the transnational threat.
Mr. Daniel Krull, German Ambassador to Ghana, praised UNODC for its effective, practitioner-focused approach in West Africa.
“It is normally not the big pockets, not the big envelopes you are carrying, but you are very strategic and to the point and very oriented to the practitioners,” he remarked.
Mr. Krull noted that Germany had partnered with UNODC since 2017, recognising the long-term challenge of arms trafficking.
He urged participants to embrace their responsibility at the meeting and beyond.
GNA
