The Christian Council of Ghana (CCG) has expressed fears that terrorists can recruit church members in their operations.
According to the General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana, Rev. Dr. Cyril G. K. Fayose “the most insidious part of this whole terror scare is when terrorist can recruit our own church members, our own colleagues, our own brothers and sisters to actually do the damage. That is the scariest part of it.”
He noted that among other things, high unemployment rate and conflicts in the country makes it easy for the youth to be recruited into the activities of these terrorist groups.
A recent report from the West African Centre for Counter Extremism (WACCE) stated that ‘‘The Global Terrorism Index reports (2019 and 2020) indicates that up to 97% (2020) of all terrorism fatalities occurred in countries already in conflict’’.
Another UN report released in February 2022, revealed the involvement of at least
one Ghanaian in a 30 ISIL-Libya group of fighters arrested in Libya.
The Christian Council’s caution comes after the National Security warned churches and Ghanaians to be on the lookout for a possible terrorist attacks.
But Rev Dr Fayose said if measures are put in place to solve youth unemployment and conflicts, chances of christians being recruited would be reduced.
Explaining the contribution of the Christian Council he said “we are in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and some other outfits such as the NEIP to do skills training to individuals and vulnerable people who have no employment, so that they can do something to sustain themselves. We did that last year and we are going to do it this year. That’s our own small way of solving the problem.”
He also counselled churches to engage security guards and fix CCTV cameras in their premises.
Despite these measures, he encouraged church heads to sensitize their members to be vigilant since the human element is most relevant.
“Anytime they see strange persons or strange objects, they should raise an alert or alarm. We must engage that person a little more. We must put one person on that strange person a little more.”
