The Ministry of the Interior has begun efforts to disarm private security personnel who use firearms acquired through personal permits, describing the practice as an exploitation of Ghana’s firearms licensing system.
Interior Minister Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak disclosed the development during an interview on JoyNews’ PM Express on Wednesday, stating that private security companies have taken advantage of loopholes in existing laws to arm their personnel despite lacking legal authority to possess or deploy firearms.
“Another thing that we also notice is that the private security companies come and we license them here,” the Asawase MP said.
According to the minister, Ghana’s legal framework governing private security operations does not permit private security companies to own or use firearms.
“The laws, interestingly, are very old laws, because the Police Act of 1970, and then the regulations, the 1992 regulations, the 1571 states it. So there had never been any time that private security companies were allowed to hold firearms,” he explained.
Mr Mubarak said operators of private security firms typically obtain licences for their companies after undergoing background checks and inspections. However, they subsequently apply for firearm permits in their personal capacities, often citing reasons such as self-protection, the nature of their work or the protection of farms and other properties.
“You and I come together to set up the company, so we come, we are given the licence, they do all the backgrounds, they check our office, they do all that, and they give us the licence,” he said.
“Then we come as individuals, so I’ll come as Muntaka and get a pump action for my self-protection. You come as Evans and get a sidearm for your self-protection.”
He added that company employees are also encouraged to acquire firearms under personal licences.
“We get other credible employees to go and get either pump action or single-barreled guns or side arms individually for their protection,” he noted.
According to the minister, once these individuals begin using the weapons while performing security duties, it creates the false impression that the private security company itself has been authorised to carry firearms.
“When we give all those, and then when we give them, because they are working in the company now, they are using it in the company as though that private security company has the mandate to use a firearm,” he said.
Responding to observations that private security firms had discovered and exploited a loophole in the legal regime, the minister agreed, acknowledging that the practice had become widespread.
He explained that when armed security personnel are stopped by law enforcement officers, they are often able to produce valid firearm permits because the licences are registered in their individual names.
However, Mr Mubarak stressed that this does not confer any authority on private security companies to deploy firearms in the course of their operations.
“No private security company is authorised to use a sidearm or use a firearm,” he stated.
“We can grant you tasers, maybe pepper spray and other equipment, but not a firearm. It’s only the police that are mandated to carry firearms.”
The Interior Minister disclosed that the ministry has begun identifying individuals who obtained firearms under the arrangement and is taking steps to rectify the situation.
“So now we are doing all this pause to be able to now identify all such individuals and correct it,” he said.
The move forms part of broader efforts by the ministry to strengthen compliance with Ghana’s firearms regulations and ensure that weapons are not used outside the limits prescribed by law.
