Interior Minister Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka has warned Ghanaians against helping foreigners obtain national identification documents after revealing that three Nigerians deported from Saudi Arabia allegedly presented Ghanaian passports upon arrival in Abuja, raising concerns over identity fraud and national security.
He said they also help foreign nationals to enter Ghana by using illegitimate crossing points.
Mr Muntaka said this at the start of his two-day duty tour of the Volta Region on Monday (June 1, 2026) when he paid a courtesy call on the Volta Regional Minister, James Gunu, at his office in Ho, and later met with religious and traditional leaders at the Ho Residency.
The visiting minister also called on Ho chiefs at the Asogli Palace at Ho-Bankoe.
He said the danger in the trend was that the motive of the foreigners who were crossing into Ghana illegally was unknown, and this was cause for concern, especially in an era of terrorism in the sub-region.
The rising influx of undocumented foreigners into the country was also not helping Ghana’s international image, Mr Muntaka pointed out.
He cited an instance in which Saudi Arabia deported three Nigerians who, on arrival at the airport in Abuja, produced Ghanaian passports.
The Minister of the Interior called on the citizenry to be alert and help in the fight to curb the scourge.
He said the human traffickers lured people into the country and made money out of them by forcing them into prostitution and other criminal acts.
Currently, Mr Mubarak said out of a total of 14,000 prisoners in the country’s jails, 1,100 were foreigners, and 75 per cent of the foreigners were Nigerians.
He touched on the abuse of narcotics substance and said the Volta Region was notorious for the large cultivation of marijuana, and that was undermining the good image of the region.
Mr Mubarak said the Volta Region, by its wide stretch of frontier with Togo, was a strategic location, for which reason the government placed high importance on security and safety in the area.
At the meeting at the Residency, the Chairman of the Volta Region Christian Council, Rev Seth Mawutor, said it was gratifying that Christians and Muslims in the region lived together in harmony.
He entreated members of the Muslim community to similarly live in peace with their neighbours at the Zongo all the time.
In a contribution, the Sariki Zongo, Ishau Turawa, appealed to the various assemblies to refrain from meddling in the choice of leaders in the Zongo communities.
He said the interference by politicians in the choice of leaders in the communities, in the past, often led to chaos among the people.
At the Asogli Palace, the War Lord of Asogli, Togbe Adzie Lakle Howusu XII, gave an assurance that the chiefs would support the government in the fight against all forms of crime.
“Our support may be in the form of providing the security agencies with tip-offs on the activities of criminals and their hideouts.
Meanwhile, Mr Gunu said plans by the Volta Regional Coordinating Council (VRCC) to make the region the hub of tourism and accelerated development could only be realised in an atmosphere of peace and unity.
For that matter, he affirmed, the VRCC would leave no stone unturned in its collaboration with the Ministry of the Interior to deal swiftly and ruthlessly with criminals.
