Colonel Eric Aggrey-Quashie
About 500 personnel from various security agencies have undergone a simulation exercise across various locations in Accra and Tema to assess their readiness in dealing with potential terrorist threats.
The joint exercise was made up of personnel from the Armed Forces, Police Service, Fire Service, and the Immigration Service.
The rest were the Ghana Navy, Ghana Ambulance Service and the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO).
Dubbed “Counter Terrorism Simulation Exercise”, the operation was carried out on Friday, November 30, 2018. It aimed at testing the physical and technical capability of personnel in battling terrorism within a controlled environment.
It was supervised by a joint counter-terrorism team from the Training Advisory Team of United Kingdom (UK) military, who had trained some security personnel in the past five weeks.
There were also other observers from the Turkey defence attaché, the United States Embassy and the South African defence attaché.
Some of the scenarios staged were bomb explosion drill at the Achimota bus terminal, bomb defusing exercise at the State Transport Company (STC) yard, kidnap rescue operation at the Achimota forest and a ground combat drill at the Trade Fair site.
There were other water drills carried out by the Ghana Navy along the shores of the Tema Harbour.
The exercise was largely witnessed by the public who exhibited mixed feelings towards a series of activities carried out by the security personnel.
In an interview, the Deputy Commander at the National Counter Terrorism Unit, ASP Bismarck Boakye Ansah, commended the public for the high level of cooperation exhibited during the exercise but cautioned against inquisitiveness in the event of explosions or attacks.
“These are deadly situations so we need spectators. First, you need to try to save your life by moving away from the scene,” he cautioned.
ASP Ansah emphasised the need for such joint exercises to be organised frequently in order to promote good coordination among agencies in real life situations.
“All the security agencies have their own way of doing things and so bringing them together is something you don’t expect to be easy,” he asserted.
He noted that the exercise highlighted the deficiency in logistics for the services which has to be addressed by government
The Director of the Directorate of Public Relations at the Ghana Armed Forces, Colonel Eric Aggrey-Quashie, gave an assurance that such exercises would be a regular activity on the calendar of the security services.
He attributed this to the growing concern of terrorism within the neighbouring sub-Saharan region of Africa.
By Issah Mohammed