The Minister for the Interior, Mubarak Mohammed Muntaka, has identified ethnic conflicts, land disputes and illicit drugs as major security concerns confronting Ghana, despite what he describes as an improvement in the country’s security situation.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Monday, October 12, 2026, the Minister said instability in the Sahel and Ghana’s porous borders added to the challenges facing security agencies.
Asked about his biggest security challenges and areas requiring further attention, he pointed to communal conflicts, disputes over land and narcotics trafficking.
He said the use of the West African coast as a transit route for illicit drugs remained a concern, citing findings by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
“You come and inherit a situation where the UN Office on Drug and Crime has consistently showed that in the last, probably, decade, the West Coast is being used as transit point for illicit drugs,” he said.
Mr Muntaka also expressed concern about insecurity in the Sahel, saying some countries in the region struggled to maintain control over substantial parts of their territory.
“I can tell you that, without mentioning specific countries, some of them don’t control up to 60% of their area.”
He explained that regional security threats required close cooperation between Ghana and its neighbours, particularly through intelligence sharing.
“So there’s no interior or national security minister in the sub-region that I don’t have direct contact with,” he stated.
“You have to try and share intelligence, you have to work together. As difficult as it is, sometimes there’s mistrust and all that.”
The Minister said the nature of Ghana’s borders complicated efforts to monitor movement, with some communities divided between neighbouring countries.
“So you could farm in one country and sleep in another country based on the way they’ve done it,” he said.
He disclosed that Ghana had more than 300 unapproved border crossing points, compared with 48 approved entry points.
“The legitimate crossing points are 48,” he said.
“We have over 300 illegitimate crossing points.”
On internal conflicts, Mr Muntaka recalled how violence linked to Bawku had spread beyond the immediate conflict zone in 2025, prompting security operations and mediation efforts.
He said retaliatory attacks, including the burning of buses along highways, had placed considerable pressure on the authorities.
“I mean, and I can bet you, these were periods that I could hardly sleep,” he said.
However, he maintained that the situation had improved, citing 150 days without gunfire in Bawku and a reduction in the number of curfews nationwide from about nine at the end of 2025 to three.
“Ghana is much safer even today than it was in 2025,” he said.
“We are doing everything possible to ensure that you can go about your duties without necessarily having to be watching your back.”
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