Security Forces Can't Stop Extremism Alone

Ghana's National Security Coordinator, COP Abdul-Osman Razak, keeps returning to one point: security cannot be left to the uniformed services alone.

The Sahel threat is close to Ghana's northern borders, and the Spyder's front page puts it plainly: communities are a vital source of intelligence.

Prevention, not containment
Razak argues that by the time campaign rallies are in full swing, authorities are managing containment, not prevention. He favours a 12-to-18-month window for early action, summed up in the line "Containment is not prevention."

His advice to local officials is not to wait for trouble before showing up. The same logic fits extremism: once a threat is inside a community, prevention has already failed.

Threats that change shape
He has warned that fewer visible vigilante groups does not mean they are gone. Some are rebranding as volunteer or community security teams and mobilising through social media and encrypted chats.

Ghana's counter-terrorism officials say extremist groups also no longer act in rudimentary ways, and plan, rehearse and coordinate using technology. Threats move to places forces cannot easily see, which is why residents, traders and chiefs matter.

Communities and the press
At the 28 October civil-security dialogue, Razak emphasised collective action. He has asked chiefs to put dialogue first and has urged agencies to treat journalists as strategic partners, not adversaries.

In your pasted text, he says truthful reporting in tense moments makes the press the nation's steady hand. That partnership depends on protecting reporters, which is why the GJA's warning about attacks on journalists on the same front page matters.

The test
Critics such as the Jatikay Centre say the Secretariat has been reactive and that northern border communities are exposed to recruitment. Communities will share intelligence only if they trust the services, see jobs and fair treatment, and are protected when they speak. Vigilance has to be matched by investment.

Mustapha Bature Sallama
Medical/ Science Communicator,
Private Investigator, Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Analysis,

International Conflict Management and Peacebuilding. (USIP)

[email protected]
+233555275880

References
MyJoyOnline, 29 Oct 2026: https://www.myjoyonline.com/stakeholders-call-for-stronger-community-security-collaboration-to-prevent-extremism/

ModernGhana, Sahel Peace Initiative forum: https://www.modernghana.com/news/1525099/ghanas-defence-intelligence-chief-warns-communal.html

Express News Ghana, "Stop Treating Journalists as Enemies": https://expressnewsghana.com/stop-treating-journalists-as-enemies-they-are-security-partners-cop-razak/

Metro TV Online, Jatikay Centre: https://metrotvonline.com/sahel-crisis-could-spill-into-ghana-jatikay-centre-warns-new-national-security-team/

Modern Ghana, "'Containment is not prevention'," 25 Aug 2026; Modern Ghana, "'You become the nation's steady hand'"; TV3 Ghana and Citi TV on vigilante rebranding

The Spyder, Vol. 6/204, 3 Nov 2026, front page and page 6