Mr Ambrose Dery, Minister for the Interior, on Tuesday paid a working visit to border entry points at Zebilla in the Bawku West District in the Upper East Region to acquit himself with security arrangements there.

The border points in the District had been beefed up by multi-security agencies including the Ghana Police Service, the Ghana Immigration Service and the Ghana Armed Forces to prevent attacks on some Burkinabes seeking refuge at Widnaba, a community in the Bawku West District owing to Chieftaincy disputes in some parts of Burkina Faso.

Addressing the media after his tour, Mr Dery said he was satisfied with the deployment arrangements promised by the various security agencies that had been affected and observed that there was effective collaboration among the security agencies.

He called on Ghanaians to be vigilant, adding that “When you get a stranger in your community you need to report to the appropriate agency. If it is a Ghanaian, report to the Police so we know another person has entered the community.”

“If it is a foreigner, report to the Immigration. Immigration will take their particulars and we will work together to make sure that we keep this country safe.”

Mr Dery recalled that in Hamile, in the Upper West Region last Sunday, the congregation at a church service were able to identify a stranger amongst them, and drew the attention of the security agencies, “he was arrested and was found to be carrying a gun, he has been moved to Wa. That is very encouraging; it means that our people are getting vigilant.”

He said that was the participatory aspect citizens needed to play to ensure that their communities were safe.

The Minister said the security services were asked to educate religious organizations on security, and what to look out for during worship, and noted that “The most important thing we need to be proud of in Ghana is that we in Ghana have the best relationship between Christians and Muslims.”

He emphasized that the concentration was not only on attacks on churches.

“Attack on places of worship including mosques are unacceptable,” and called on religious organizations to go beyond just praying to God, and educate their people and be vigilant to identify new people in their midst.

Mr Dery, who is the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Nandom Constituency in the Upper West Region, said President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was confident in the security agencies that they would ensure that the country was safe.

He expressed the President’s gratitude to the security personnel and said President Akufo-Addo was committed to supporting them with whatever needs they had, and further thanked them for their good work.

The Minister again thanked the media for playing its role by drawing government’s attention to issues that needed attention.

The Minister was in the company of Mr Frank Fuseini Adongo, the Deputy Upper East Regional Minister and MP for the area, Madam Victoria Ayamba, the Bawku West District Chief Executive, top security service officials and members of both the Regional and District Security Councils.