The Comptroller-General of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), Samuel Basintale Amadu, has led a delegation of senior GIS officers to meet with the Director of the Central Directorate of Prevention (DCPP) of the Italian Polizia di Stato and representatives of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT).

The meeting focused on the evolving terrorist threat in the Sahel and coastal West Africa, highlighting the growing risks posed by violent extremist groups, transnational organised crime, irregular migration, arms smuggling and cross-border criminal networks.

Special attention was drawn to the vulnerability of Ghana’s northern borders, given the deteriorating security situation in neighbouring Sahelian states and the increasing risk of extremist infiltration.

Border surveillance

Mr Amadu emphasised the GIS’s commitment to strengthening border surveillance, intelligence-led operations, tactical preparedness, inter-agency cooperation and institutional capacity to counter emerging threats.

Italian authorities and UNOCT representatives shared international best practices in counter-terrorism, border management, operational coordination and specialised tactical training.

The discussions also underscored the need to balance robust security measures with respect for human rights, lawful migration management and community engagement.

The meeting reviewed progress on the Italy–Ghana–UNOCT Border Security and Management Cooperation project, focusing on activity schedules, expected outputs and coordination mechanisms.

Partners reaffirmed their commitment to supporting specialised training, trainer-of-trainers programmes, the development of standardised training manuals and capacity-building at the Immigration Tactical Training School (ITTraS).

The session concluded with a shared pledge to deepen cooperation among the participating institutions and ensure the project contributes meaningfully to Ghana’s border security and counter-terrorism capacity, within the broader framework of regional and international security collaboration.