Ghana’s security forces have foiled “an elaborate plot” to target the presidency “with the ultimate aim of destabilising the country”, the information ministry says.

A joint security operation last Friday led to the arrest of three people and seizure of several weapons, its statement said.

One of those arrested included a local arms manufacturer.

The operation came after “15 months of surveillance and gathering of evidence on the activities of the prime suspects and others”.

Between June and August last year one of the suspects "contacted a number of serving military personnel, and talked to them into hatching and executing a plot to obtain weapons, take over key installations, and secure funding for the purpose of taking over the reins of government", the statement said.

Ghana is considered one of the more stable countries in West Africa since its transition to multi-party democracy in 1992, putting a succession of destabilising coups behind it.

President Nana Akufo-Addo won an election in December 2016, with incumbent John Mahama accepting defeat after a hotly contested race.