Surrender Unlicensed Weapons In Two Weeks - Yakubu

The Ministry of the Interior has ordered all persons who are in possession of unlicensed weapons to surrender them to the police within two weeks. No penalty will be attached to the possession of unlicensed weapons during this period, which becomes effective immediately. There will also be rewards for those who promptly hand over their weapons, Alhaji Malik Al-Hassan Yakubu, Minister for the Interior said. He was speaking at a press conference to announce measures by the government to tackle the upsurge of criminal activities that have rocked the nation, especially Accra.

Alhaji Yakubu ordered that weapons stored in locations outside the strict control of the Ghana Armed Forces or the Police Service must be turned over to the two security institutions to be stored in their authorized armouries. He said after the expiration of the two-week moratorium, the police and military will mount a joint exercise to retrieve all unlicensed weapons and weapons stored in locations not authorised and controlled by the Armed Forces and the Police Service. Those found in possession of unlicensed weapons after the period expires would face the full rigours of the law. Alhaji Yakubu stressed that the current move to withdraw all unlicensed weapons in the system is an indication of the country's readiness to implement the ECOWAS initiative to tackle the proliferation of arms in the West Africa sub-region.

He announced that the government is exploring possibilities of collaborating with friendly foreign nations to find solution to the serial killing of women, saying security officials will hold discussions with US homicide experts, including officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). Consequently, the Ministry of the Interior will closely monitor the operations of the police to ensure that they have put in place effective all round mobile, foot and static patrolling of Accra. It will also replace the fixed roadblocks on major roads with strategic flexible and unpredictable roadblocks within the city. He said organisations like the Progressive Voluntary Organisations (PVOS) will be allowed to exist, but they would not be allowed to operate in the security forces.