The Gun Amnesty Programme Train has paid a courtesy call on Mr James Gunu, the Volta Regional Minister, and the Chiefs of Asogli State, ahead of a series of public engagements in the region.
The initiative is part of the ongoing nationwide Gun Amnesty Programme awareness campaign.
The delegation was made up of personnel from the Ghana Police Service, the Ministry of the Interior, allied security agencies, and the National Commission on Small Arms and Light Weapons, and was led by Dr Adam Bonaa, the Executive Secretary of the Commission.
Dr Bonaa said the visit to the Volta Region was guided by three main objectives, foremost of which was to sensitise residents on the ongoing gun amnesty and ensure that people in the region were not left out of the exercise.
He explained that the amnesty, which was declared on December 1, 2025, and was expected to end on January 15, 2026, was intended to allow persons in possession of illegal, unregistered, or unwanted firearms to surrender them voluntarily without fear of arrest, interrogation, intimidation, or prosecution.
“The essence of the amnesty is to encourage those who have firearms, which they are not supposed to have, or firearms that are not registered, to surrender them freely. Once surrendered within the amnesty period, the person is immune from prosecution,” he said.
Dr Bonaa noted that the visit formed part of what the Commission termed the “Gun Amnesty Programme Train,” which had earlier toured the Upper West Region and was currently at Ho, popularly referred to as the “Oxygen City.”
He said the team would later proceed to the Oti Region as part of its nationwide tour.
He said the delegation had come to seek the support and blessing of the Regional Minister, as the representative of the President in the Volta Region, as well as that of traditional authorities, to ensure the success of the programme.
As part of activities in the region, Dr Bonaa said the team would engage key stakeholders to educate them on the scope, procedures, and benefits of the amnesty.
This would be followed by an “amnesty walk” through principal streets of Ho to further draw public attention to the need to surrender illicit weapons and promote peace and security in the region.
He explained that persons who wished to regularise their firearms could report to the nearest police station to begin the process, while weapons that could not be legally regularised would be confiscated and destroyed.
Dr Bonaa said appeals had been made by the Volta Regional Minister and traditional leaders for an extension of the amnesty period, but stressed that the decision rested solely with the Minister of the Interior.
“We are implementers of the amnesty, not the ones who declared it,” he said, adding that should the Interior Minister deem it necessary, an announcement would be made on whether the programme would be extended beyond January 15.
He warned that after the amnesty period, enforcement would begin, but emphasised that the current focus was to encourage voluntary compliance rather than mass arrests.
Dr Bonaa cited the growing threat of illicit weapons across the sub-region and recent interceptions of large quantities of ammunition as justification for the nationwide campaign, adding that the Commission was committed to visiting all regions and communities to ensure the removal of illegal firearms from society.
He appealed to the media to partner the Commission by intensifying public education and coverage of the programme’s activities, including the sensitisation sessions and the planned amnesty walk.
Welcoming the delegation, Mr Gunu, reaffirmed the commitment of the Volta Regional Coordinating Council (VRCC) to support the Commission in the discharge of its mandate.
He said the gun amnesty would help strengthen the region’s development agenda by ensuring a peaceful and secure environment, and reiterated that security was a shared responsibility between government and citizens.
On behalf of Togbe Afede XIV, Agbogbomefia of Asogli State, Togbe Anikpi III, the Dufia of Ho-Heve, thanked the delegation for the visit and described the amnesty as timely and necessary.
He observed that many households in the region, and across the country, possessed various forms of arms and ammunition, some of which were unregistered or had expired licenses.
He urged firearm owners to take advantage of the amnesty to regularise or surrender their weapons.
Togbe Anikpi noted that public awareness of the amnesty was still limited in some communities and suggested the use of information vans, the Information Services Department, and local FM stations to broaden sensitisation efforts.
He appealed for an extension of the amnesty period to allow more people, including traditional rulers, to comply with the law without fear of arrest, and wished the delegation success in its mission in the Volta Region.
GNA
Edited by Maxwell Awumah/ Christabel Addo
07 Jan 2026
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