The Ghana Immigration Service says the revision of the Service’s law to allow personnel to handle weapons in the discharge of duty would make enforcement and patrol activities more effective.
Until the passage of the Immigration Service Act 2016, personnel of the Service were not allowed to carry weapons in the discharge of their duties.
Head of Public Affairs at Ghana Immigration Service, Francis Palmdeti, told 3News personnel in the past relied on the Customs division of the Ghana Revenue Authority to deal with hostile violators of the country’s immigration laws.
“The inability for personnel from the Immigration Service to wield ammunition had resulted in deficiency in dealing with crime at the border but the passage of the Immigration Service Act has paved the way for us to use weapons.
“Previously, our officers suffered attacks and also smugglers were not scared of our personnel because they were not armed even though we managed to arrest some smugglers,” he said.
Mr. Palmdeti stated that as a security institution “we cannot man the frontage of our country without the right tools, which is why with the passage of the Immigration Service Act, we now believe that our mandate will be properly and well executed as we enter 2017 and the years to come”.
He assured that officers of the Ghana Immigration Service would give out their best to ensure the country is free from terrorist attacks. Mr Palmdeti made the remarks when a delegation from the GIS paid a courtesy call on the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, at the Manhyia Palace to commiserate with him on the loss of the Asantehemaa, Nana Afia Kobi Serwaa Ampem II.The Ashanti Regional Immigration Service Commander, Martin Osei Bonsu, pleaded with the public to give out relevant information to aid in effective job performance.
“We rely on the public for information because the miscreants can be identified by people in the community. We want to ensure that there is sanity in our system by prosecuting foreigners conducting illegal activities in the country,” he said.
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