Ghana’s northern border region has become a rare sanctuary for Sahelian militant group JNIM, even as it wages war across neighboring states.
The Sahel-based Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin has struck border areas across the Gulf of Guinea, but has largely spared Ghanaian soil.
Analysts describe an unspoken understanding, sometimes called a “nonaggression pact,” between Accra and the militant group operating near Burkina Faso.
Ghana’s porous northern frontier, thin state presence and deep economic insecurity have created what experts term a “sovereignty gap.”
Within that gap, JNIM fighters reportedly rest, receive medical treatment at local hospitals, and replenish food and weapons supplies.
Fighters then cross back into Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger to battle security forces, with Benin, Nigeria and Togo also at risk.
Researchers at the Netherlands-based Clingendael Institute say JNIM avoids provoking Ghana’s comparatively strong military to protect its rear bases.
Border towns including Hamile and Bawku have reportedly become markets for cattle stolen from Burkinabe communities under JNIM control.
That livestock theft, described locally as forced “zakat,” strips rural Burkinabe families of income and nutrition, researchers say.
Frederick Appiah Afriyie, founder of Ghana’s Center for African Security and Strategic Studies, warns the accommodation strategy is dangerously shortsighted.
He wrote that the risk of JNIM expansion has shifted from theoretical to practical and increasingly imminent for Ghana.
Analysts point to Bawku’s long-running leadership dispute between Mamprusi and Kusasi communities as a potential flashpoint for exploitation.
Jessica Moody of the Global Terrorism Index says militant groups have repeatedly exploited communal tensions between herders and farmers elsewhere.
Afriyie cautioned that heavy-handed security responses could backfire, generating the very sympathy for JNIM that Ghana hopes to avoid.
He argued security gains must include local residents acting as the state’s “eyes and ears” rather than occupying forces.
Longer term, he urged investment in vocational training and dialogue mechanisms to resolve ethnic disputes peacefully.
“Enduring security is not possible without legitimate governance and real economic prospects,” Afriyie wrote, summarizing the stakes ahead.