A security expert and former Ghana Armed Forces officer, Retired Colonel Festus Aboagye, has expressed concerns over the recent deployment of military personnel to combat smuggling along Ghana’s borders.
He questioned why the military, rather than the Police—who are constitutionally responsible for internal security—was chosen for this task.
Col. Aboagye argued that, border duties are not traditionally within the military’s purview and suggested that this deployment could be perceived as an attempt to suppress votes in border regions.
He described the practice as a lingering remnant of past military rule in Ghana.
Speaking on Accra-based Class FM, the retired colonel criticized the decision to use military forces to curb grain smuggling at the borders.
He pointed out that there are clear constitutional guidelines for deploying the military within the country, particularly in non-war situations.
Col. Aboagye emphasized the importance of transparency in such deployments, especially if they are conducted under a state of emergency.
He questioned who authorized the deployment and stressed that, in a democracy, the President must first seek parliamentary approval and obtain a Legislative Instrument under a state of emergency before deploying the military.
“It is not within the Minister of Defence’s authority to arbitrarily deploy the armed forces. We must adhere to due process in line with democratic governance. The minister cannot simply announce the deployment of the army on radio,” he argued.
Furthermore, Col. Aboagye alleged that in past operations against cocoa smuggling and illegal mining (galamsey), the military had often ended up assisting the very smugglers they were meant to combat.
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