Intelligence and counterterrorism in Ghana

The past decade has seen an upsurge in terrorism within the West African sub-region prompted by instability in the Sahel region which has become a ‘terrorist enclave’. The risk of spillover has prompted Ghana to undertake proactive measures culminating into the development of the National Framework for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism and Terrorism (NAFPCVET). The framework sets out a four-tier National Counterterrorism Strategy (3PR) - Prevent, Preempt, Protect and Respond. Ghana also developed a National Security Strategy in 2020 demonstrating its efforts to address the threat of terrorism and other threats to its security. The Ghanaian Intelligence Community (GIC) is central to the effective implementation of both the National Security Strategy and the NAFPCVET. This chapter contributes to understanding the dynamic developments in Africa’s intelligence and security landscape by examining the GIC and its interface with the country’s counterterrorism efforts. Since Ghana has not experienced any active terrorist attack, analysis of its intelligence approach provides a useful model to understand the utility of intelligence in counterterrorism. The chapter first looks at the threat of terrorism and how it is framed within Ghana’s security threat matrix. It then examines the institutional framework underpinning Ghana’s counterterrorism strategy and the entities that comprise the GIC. The chapter situates the role of the intelligence agencies within the context of counterterrorism as a basis to understand how the use of intelligence drives counterterrorism.