The exercise  held on separate occasions in the two districts sought to increase the participation of citizens to promote peaceful coexistence and reduce the threats of violent extremist groups.

It formed part of the NGO's Building Resilience and Inclusive Dialogue against Extremism (BRIDGE) project being implemented to help fight against violent extremism.

The  project is funded by the European Union under the Preventing Electoral Violence and Providing Security to the Northern Border Regions of Ghana (NORPREVSEC) Programme implemented by COGINTA.

Threats 

Speaking at the event, a Programme Officer at  RAINS-Ghana, Justice Awen-natey Atiim, indicated that   activities of extremist groups in the sub-region posed threats to the country,   hence the need  to raise awareness and build local capacity to prevent a possible attack.

He noted that northern Ghana was susceptible to activities of extremist groups due to factors such as high levels of poverty, youth unemployment and underemployment, porous nature of borders,  weak immigrations systems among others.

He said  the situation in neighbouring countries was a wakeup call for proactive measures by stakeholders to deal with local issues that could serve as catalyst for extremist activities in the country. 

Join forces 

Mr Atim ,therefore, implored all stakeholders to put their join forces to  eliminate all factors that could serve as conveyor belts to the emergence of extremist activities.

Officials from the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) and the Ghana Police Service among other stakeholders in the districts took turns to educate participants on dangers associated with violent extremism and radicalisation, and how they could contribute to prevent such acts in their communities.