CONFLICTS ARE FERTILE GROUNDS FOR EXTREMISTS - OTI REGIONAL POLICE COMMANDER

The Oti Regional Commander of the Ghana Police Service, DCOP Charles Dormaban has said conflict, if allowed to fester for long, could be a fertile ground for extremists. He said this at the Jasikan College of Education during an NCCE/European Union-sponsored programme aimed at preventing and containing violent extremism in Ghana.

He explained that extremists often take advantage of conflict-infested communities to perpetuate their agenda. The Commander also mentioned that internal conflicts promote the proliferation of arms that are used for various crimes. "Even after the conflict has ended, the weapons that were acquired for the conflict become the source of ammunition to perpetrate crimes of various forms", DCOP Dormaban said. The Commander also informed the participants that there have been several attempts by extremists to enter the country but was quick to assure participants that the security agencies on all occasions have been able to notice and prevent them from entering the country. He proceeded to say that the service cannot by itself prevent violent extremists from entering the country but would need citizens to come on board to volunteer information and report real-time suspicious people that come into the community.

Speaking on the same platform, the Executive Director of Citizen Care said cohesion is the platform for building peace. When people are together, they always find a common ground to resolve their differences. He also mentioned that when people are marginalized, extremists often identify and use them to perpetuate their agenda. He, therefore, encouraged the participants to build an all-inclusive community to hinder the activities of extremists.

The chairman of the occasion, Nana Opoku Krampa V of Okajakrom in his remarks, reiterated the need for participants to be vigilant and quick to report suspicious characters to the appropriate authorities. He noted that conflicts do not build societies. He called on participants not to respond to politicians or extremists who would seek to lure them with money or lucrative packages to perpetuate the violence that would end up destroying their own country.

The NCCE Finance Director, Ms. Monica Mamattah encouraged the students to propagate the message that has been delivered to them. She also urged them to be ambassadors of peace and make it their duty to always preach it in their communities.