Interior Minister Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak has raised the alarm over a growing trend of Ghanaians helping foreign nationals fraudulently register on the country’s national identification database, warning that the practice poses serious security risks in a region increasingly threatened by terrorism.
The minister made the disclosure on Monday during the opening of a two-day working visit to the Volta Region, where he met Volta Regional Minister James Gunu, religious and traditional leaders in Ho, and chiefs at the Asogli Palace in Ho-Bankoe.
He cited a concrete case to illustrate the danger. Saudi Arabia deported three Nigerian nationals who, upon landing at the airport in Abuja, presented Ghanaian passports. The incident, he said, is a direct consequence of citizens facilitating illegal documentation for foreigners and undermines Ghana’s credibility internationally.
Muntaka said security agencies have identified 102 unapproved inland crossing points in the Volta Region alone, through which undocumented migrants are entering Ghana. He disclosed that all 740 human trafficking victims rescued in 2025 passed through the Aflao and Akanu corridors in the region, with traffickers profiting by forcing victims into prostitution and other criminal activities.
“Our focus is to ensure that land services are transparent, accessible and efficient while protecting public lands and the rights of citizens,” the minister said, adding that citizens must be vigilant.
Prison population data released during the tour underscored the scale of the challenge. Of 14,000 inmates currently in Ghana’s prisons, 1,100 are foreign nationals, and 75 percent of those are Nigerians.
The minister also flagged the Volta Region’s well-documented marijuana cultivation problem, describing it as a threat to the region’s reputation and broader national security. Given the region’s long frontier with Togo, he said government regards it as a strategic security priority.
The Volta Regional Coordinating Council (VRCC) pledged full collaboration with the Interior Ministry, with Regional Minister Gunu reaffirming that the council would pursue development and tourism goals only within a framework of sustained peace and security.
