GIS tightens controls over firearms, ammunition

November 4, 2026

2 minutes read

GIS tightens controls over firearms-----Mr Basintale (seated third from right) with GIS officers after the seminar

The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) has moved to tighten controls over its firearms and ammunition to prevent losses, improve weapon safety and strengthen operational discipline.

The initiative forms part of a two-day Weapon Safety and Armoury Management Seminar for 146 Immigration officers, including regional and selected sector commanders, at the Ghana Immigration Centre of Excellence (GISCE) in Accra.

Opening the seminar, the Comptroller-General of Immigration, Mr Samuel Basintale Amadu, said effective armoury management was critical to the safety of officers, the protection of state-owned weapons and national security.

He urged participants to apply the knowledge acquired to improve weapon management practices at their respective commands, stressing that the disciplined handling of firearms was essential to operational readiness and professionalism.

The training was organised in collaboration with armoury management experts from the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), the Ghana Police Service (GPS) and the Small Arms Commission of Ghana.

According to a statement issued in Accra yesterday and signed by the Deputy Commissioner of Immigration at the GIS Public Affairs Department, Maud Anima Quainoo, the seminar equipped participants with practical skills in the safe handling, storage, issuance and tracking of weapons and ammunition.

The Armorer General of the Ghana Police Service, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Isaac K. Asante, took participants through key armoury management procedures, drawing on his operational experience.

He cautioned against weak inventory systems, poor record-keeping and inadequate supervision, urging commanders to maintain accurate registers, conduct regular inspections and enforce procedures governing the issuance and return of firearms and ammunition.

DCOP Asante said the GIS could strengthen its armoury systems by adopting relevant practices used by the Police, particularly in physical security, access control, documentation and routine audits.

The Commander of the 851 Ammunition and Explosives Ordnance Regiment of the GAF, Lieutenant Colonel Frank Tetteh-Kumah, also outlined standard operating procedures for military armouries.

He said the GAF operated strict systems covering the receipt, storage, issuance, inspection, maintenance and disposal of weapons and ammunition.

The Small Arms Commission, led by its Director of Operations, Mr Emmanuel Felix Mantey, facilitated sessions on stockpile management and firearm safekeeping.

The Head of Intelligence of the GIS, Deputy Commissioner of Immigration (DCOI) Kwasi Opoku Apau, said specialised training in weapon safety was essential to the GIS’s ambition to become a model institution in migration and border management.

BY TIMES REPORTER

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