Wia dis foto come from, OMAR TORRES/AFP via GETTY IMAGES
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If you dey stay for any part of Ghana and you get illegal guns by dis time, you still get some time to surrender dem.
Authorities for di kontri dey roll out one project dem dey call ‘gun amnesty’ from now till 15 January 2026.
For dis project, dem dey ask pipo to surrender all dia illegal arms to di small arms commission or any police station for di kontri, without prosecution.
Interior minister Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak tok say di ‘gun amnesty’ be part of effort to make di kontri safe.
“Di interior ministry announce dis gun amnesty to reduce illegal arms for di kontri; we dey encourage pipo wey get dis illegal arms to surrender dem to di nearest police station. Di ministry go collect dis arms and we no go prosecute anybody wey present dia arms.”
Muntaka Mubarak tok say “if afta 15 January 2026, we find pipo wit illicit arms, we go arrest and prosecute you according to di law even as di security agencies dey work to protect life and property for di kontri.”
How pipo go fit submit dia ‘illegal’ arms bifor 15 January
Wia dis foto come from, SMALL ARMS COMMISSION
Di small arms commission be di agency wey dey in-charge of weapons for di kontri. Dem dey to control illegal spread of small arms and to prevent pipo from misusing dem. Di commission also dey to ensure say di kontri comply wit international treaties to combat illegal trade as well as gun violence.
- Wrap di firearm well – make you no carry di gun and ammunition openly. Carry put inside bag, box or sack if you dey take go di police station to surrender am.
- Separate di ammunition from di firearm – put di gun inside anoda bag and put ammunition inside anoda bag
- Carry di gun and ammunition to di nearest district police between 1 December and 15 January
- Tok di officer on duty say you wan ‘surrender’ or ‘register’ di firearm under di gun amnesty programme.
- Make sure you collect receipt – Di officer for di district police station go collect your firearm and ammunition and give you receipt
- Keep di receipt as proof say you surrender your arms.
Some of dis guns and ammunition wey dey di hands of civilians be sake of dem tiff dem from security officers, odas dey collaborate wit some security officers to get dis weapons wey odas dey get dem from local fabricators wey dey manufacture dis arms.
According to di small arms commission, some of dis weapons wey pipo get, enta di kontri illegally.
Five key aspects of di ‘gun amnesty’ programme
During di programme, di small arms commission togeda wit di interior ministry and oda security agencies go enforce some strict rules.
- Suspend importation, sale and new firearm permits and registration for dis amnesty period
- Ban di use of firearms during traditional celebrations like funerals, festivals and oda community events
- Prove security for borders to prevent trafficking before, during and afta di gun amnesty
- Roll out joint security operations across di kontri to collect illegal firearms and prosecute offenders afta di amnesty period wey be 15 January 2026.
- Storm criminal hotspots wey dem go swoop places wey get history of criminal networks to find pipo wey still get weapons illegally for dis ghettos and oda places
Executive secretary for di small arms commission Dr Adam Bonaa warn say afta di amnesty period, pipo wey still get illegal arms fit enta jail for up to 15 years.
“Afta 15 January, we go set taskforce, wey go dey in charge of retrieving illegal arms. If somebody report to di taskforce or di police say anoda pesin still get illegal weapons, we go compensate di whistleblower (di pesin wey report to di authorities), wey we go collect di weapon and prosecute you – you go end up for prison.”
So far, dem visit mosques, churches, townhalls, community centres, markets and oda places to educate pipo and ask dem to surrender dia arm during di amnesty period.
Wia dis foto come from, ERNEST ANKOMAH/GETTY IMAGES
Alarming rate of proliferation of arms for Ghana
As at September 2025, 2.3 million weapons dey di hands of civilians according to data from di small arms commission. Out of dis number, pipo dey keep about 1.1 million illegally or dem no register dem. Only 1.2 million of dis weapons dey registered legally wit di Ghana police.
Di small arms commission open-source gun incident report show say pipo dey display military-grade weapons like AK-47 rifles, G3 rifles and M16 rifles by civilians during traditional and cultural celebrations dey worry.
Dem also tok say di use of dis military-grade weapons for armed robbery and oda violent crimes dey rise.
For di second quarter of 2025, di small arms commission report 54 gun-related incidents compared to 15 for di previous quarter. Out of di 16 regions of Ghana, 11 of dem get reports of gun crimes – wit Ashanti, Easter and Upper East regions wit di most cases. Anoda area wia security agencies dey struggle to deal wit, be di local gun manufacturing industry. Some of di trafficked weapons be among di 200,000 wey local gun makers dey produce – even though ibi illegal to produce weapons locally.
Kontris like Australia, Brazil and di United Kingdom all implement similar ‘gun amnesty’ programme wey lead to recovery of thousands of illegal firearms. For South Africa, Kenta and Uganda, dem also introduce campaigns to allow pipo to surrender dia arms – wey help to restore peace for di conflict-prone areas.
Authorities for Ghana dey hope say dis ‘gun amnesty’ programme go dey successful wey dem go deal wit di increase crime rates and gun-violence for di kontri.