Interior Minister says insiders are aiding criminals and foreign partners are wary of sharing intelligence

Pinned summary · as of 16:53

Interior Minister Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak has told a public forum that some insiders in Ghana's security agencies are helping criminals, and that overseas partners are now hesitant to pass on intelligence as a result. He linked the concern to the recent cocaine bust and said he would meet the French ambassador to seek closer cooperation.

What we know

• Mr Mohammed-Mubarak alleged that some people inside security agencies are aiding and abetting criminal activity.
• The minister said foreign counterparts are reluctant to hand information to Ghana because they fear it will leak through an insider.
• He said Australia and France in particular are holding back after the recent cocaine seizure, and that he was due to meet the French ambassador on the matter.
• Mr Mohammed-Mubarak criticised the practice of giving security operations a political colour, saying it undermines public trust and protects wrongdoers.
• He warned that the problem cannot be solved unless attitudes change, saying nobody will come from above to fix it for the country.

What's disputed / unconfirmed

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  Rainbow Radio Online reported the minister as alleging that officers who cleared background checks for sensitive posts are exploiting those posts for personal gain; this allegation has not been repeated in other reports.
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  Rainbow Radio Online reported the minister as saying that collaborative work with Australia and France has ground to a halt, a detail Onua Online did not carry.
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  Rainbow Radio Online put the intercepted cocaine at nearly 3.9 tonnes, hidden in a plastic waste container sent from Ghana to Dunkirk, France; this figure has not been repeated in the other report.

Why it matters for Ghana

Ghana's ports and borders depend on intelligence shared with partner countries, so any pullback by France or Australia could make it harder to trace drug shipments leaving the country. The minister's remarks put pressure on the Ghana Police Service, customs and other agencies to show that their staff can be trusted. Onua Online added that he said personnel are trained and vetted before receiving sensitive duties, so the concern is about conduct rather than screening.