Why Ghana faces a growing jihadi threat

Ghana, which shares its northern border with Burkina Faso, is facing a growing insurgent threat.

Analysts have warned Ghanaians risk being recruited by jihadis. For years, Burkina Faso has struggled to contain terrorist groups like Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), Islamic State Sahel Province (ISGS), and their affiliates. 

"It is likely that we [already] have some Ghanaians joining these [jihadi] groups," Abdul Zanya Salifu, a security researcher from the University of Calgary, told DW.

"I had spoken to some guys in 2023 in Accra, they were unemployed youth, and they expressed interest in joining [the jihadi groups]," he said.

But DW correspondent Maxwell Suuk, who covers northern Ghana, explained that in many instances, Ghanaians are recruited through family connections across the border. Individuals believe it is their duty to protect their relatives against attacks in their villages in Burkina Faso.

"So, you have someone who has a relative in Burkina Faso and then he goes there, does whatever he wants to do, and then comes back," he explained. "You know, there was recently an arrest of a man around the [border] area. It was found that he was half-Ghanaian, half-Burkinabe."

Potential recruits feeling marginalized?

Mutaru Mumuni Muqthar, executive director of the West Africa Center for Counter-Extremism told DW that the risk of recruitment and exploitation by jihadi groups was largely focused in border communities.

"We are beginning to emphasize the reality of the threat that points to the issue of marginalization along ethnic lines. So, they are pushed to join these groups to engage in revenge attacks on the state and against the local population," Muqthar said.

Security researcher Salifu said that reports of some Ghanaians joining jihadi groups should not be taken lightly, adding that poverty and a lack of employment opportunities put many young people in northern Ghana at risk of being recruited.

"[They believe that] when they go there, they can have access to money to take care of their families," he explained.

According to Ghana's statistical service, in 2024, almost a million people in Ghana's Northern Region were multi-dimensionally poor.

Suuk confirmed that, "the inequality, the poverty, the lack of jobs, and the feeling of marginalization" were of special concern in northern Ghana. 

"The presence of these criminal gangs online is ahead of the government in targeting young people," he added. 

Porous borders have also allowed potential recruiters to cross over into Ghana. A 2024 report by the Dutch think tank Clingendael, said jihadis are using Ghana to restock supplies. 

"The absence of real attacks on Ghanaian soil seems to result from JNIM's calculus of not disturbing supply lines and places of rest as well as not provoking a relatively strong army," the report said.

Muqthar, who has carried out extensive research on northern Ghana, confirmed this.

"We have had commentaries among locals in the areas that indicate these [jihadis] may have come in here for the purposes of buying provisions and logistics. They are people from across the border with the same ethnic backgrounds," he told DW.

Are conflicts in Ghana being exploited?

Other existing risk factors, such as tribal conflicts in northern Ghana, may make the country more susceptible to recruitment, say some analysts.

Dr Naazia Ibrahim, a conflict resolution expert at the University of Development Studies, told DW it was crucial to quell any ongoing conflict to make Ghana unattractive to any terrorist group. 

Failing to resolve internal conflicts in border communities would only increase the risks for Ghana, she added. 

"When you are fighting, and you have been fighting for a long time, other people can get tired. Fatigue from everybody, but the government has to [solve the problem]," she said.

Ghana's president, John Mahama, traveled to Bawku, a town in Ghana's Upper East Region, in his first major outing since his inauguration last month. The community continues to experience decades of tribal conflicts that have resulted in deaths and insecurity.

His government spokesperson said quelling the Bawku conflict is key to preventing jihadi groups from gaining a following.

Finding solutions

Mahama has also tried to mend ties with other countries in the Sahel region who are struggling with ongoing jihadi attacks.

Last month he appointed retired army officer Larry Gbevlo-Lartey as the key liaison to the Alliance of Sahel States (AoSS). He is widely expected to help Ghana address any potential overflow of terrorist activities from the Sahel countries.

President Mahama told DW days after he won last year's presidential election that Ghana must be vigilant.

"We are at risk. We need to work as quickly as possible. We need to give Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger all the support they need to deal with this crisis," Mahama said.

Salifu said the government must tighten its security, but also resolve the social problems that allow for young people to be exploited by terrorist groups.

"[Creating] jobs for the people, and there is growing unemployment day in, day out. So, the government should find avenues for creating ways in which the youth can be engaged," he said. 

Edited by: Cai Nebe