News
Ghana hosts High-Level Regional Meeting on Combating Firearms Trafficking
Ghana has taken a significant step in the fight against illicit firearms trafficking by hosting a 3-day high-level Regional Planning Meeting for Operation KAFO VI in Accra, which aims at dismantling arms networks and enhancing regional security.
Addressing participants, the Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, noted that “let this planning meeting not be remembered as another workshop. Let it be remembered as the beginning of a new phase in regional enforcement where we do not merely react to threats, but anticipate, prevent and dismantle them. We must see it through with unity, integrity and urgency.”
He stated that the meeting focuses on coordinating joint efforts to combat firearms trafficking and associated threats throughout the West African Sub-region and that Operation KAFO VI emphasises understanding the threat before it reaches borders and also empowers law enforcement officers with data, training and cooperation mechanisms.
Muntaka Mubarak added that the comprehensive training programme integrated into Operation KAFO VI will provide regional training of trainers, national-level capacity building and standardised tools for operational plans and threat assessments.
The operation also promotes gender balance, encouraging the inclusion of more qualified women in all areas, from planning to operations.
The meeting is expected to assist participating countries in identifying key border points for intervention and developing a united and strategic response to arms trafficking and violent extremism. The operation aims to build trust between national authorities, agencies and partners and to facilitate the sharing of intelligence and best practices.
In his welcome remarks, the Chief of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Ghana, Mr. Christoph Capelle, stated that the Regional Planning Meeting marks another milestone in the fight against illegal arms and crime in West Africa.
He noted that UNODC is providing technical assistance to Ghana because collaboration is essential and no country or agency can combat illicit firearms and crime alone, as the situation has become transnational and complex, requiring a collective effort.
The meeting is expected to bring together representatives from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the Diplomatic corps and participants from Ghana, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali and Togo.
Miniser for Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu has revealed a major shake up at Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) following recent power outages.
In a post on Facebook, Felix Kwakye Ofosu disclosed that Minister for Energy and Green Transition, John Jinapor has asked the CEO of GRIDCo to step aside pending investigations into fire incident at Akosombo power control center.
Also, he further noted that there has been a major shake up in the leadership of the ECG in the Ashanti Region.
“At 2pm tomorrow, Minister for Energy and Green Transition, Hon John Jinapor, will hold a major briefing on recent developments in electricity distribution,” he concluded.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
News
Abu Trica’s extradition case: Prophets, fetish priests demand pay for spiritual solution …Lawyer reveals
Mr Oliver Barker-Vormawor, a lawyer for embattled Frederick Kumi, affectionately called Abu Trica and has made a shocking revelation over the behaviour of some members of the clergy.
According to him in a post on social media, the difficult part of Abu Trica’s trial is not the law but the number of ‘Men of God’ and fetish priests demanding financial sacrifices to help resolve the matter spiritually.
Oliver Barker-Vormawor posted on Tuesday, April 22, 2026, “The most difficult part about the Abu Trica case; is not the law.”
He continued: “It is the number of, prophetesses, evangelists and fetish priests, who have called or messaged to ask us to pay for spiritual solutions.”
It would be recalled that in March this year, the Gbese District Court dismissed a preliminary objection filed by Abu Trica, challenging the extradition proceedings initiated at the request of the United States.
The court, presided over by Anna Akosua Appiah Gottfried Anaafi Gyasi, in its ruling held that the offences forming the basis of the extradition, particularly wire fraud, constitute extraditable offences under the 1931 treaty between Ghana and the United States.
He was then given 15 days counting from March 27 to appeal the decision of the court or be surrendered for extradition to the US.
Against this backdrop, he was on Tuesday, April 22, granted a bail in the sum of GH¢30,000,000 by an Accra High, pending the appeal of his extradition
Mr Kumi was arrested in Ghana in December 2025 following an indictment by United States authorities, alleging that he played a role in a romance scam network that defrauded elderly American victims of more than $8 million.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
