The Northern Regional Police Command has said it will be deploying personnel to 31 churches within the Tamale Metropolis this yuletide.

The command said even though Ghana has not experienced any terrorism or extremism, it cannot leave the security of the residents to chance.

In an interview with JoyNews, the Northern Regional Crime Officer, Superintendent Bernard Baba Ananga said the service would ensure maximum security is provided for worshipers.

 “So far, what we have collated for ourselves is that we have about 31 churches within the Tamale Metropolis and we need to police them this Christmas and the New Year. We would deploy men to all these churches to ensure a violent free and road carnage free Christmas,” he said.

Superintendent Ananga also added that recent happenings in Burkina Faso is still fresh on the minds of many.

“We cannot just say Ghana has never experienced issues of terrorism or extremism, let’s just look at Burkina Faso which is not far from us. Every day we see and hear what is happening there, so it’s also better that we are proactive instead of reactive,” he stressed.

He said in the coming days, the command would be conducting swoops within the metropolis and the various districts especially in areas where there have been reports of suspicious activities.

“We would also be conducting swoops to fish out these criminals,” Superintendent Ananga said.

Again, Superintendent Ananga revealed that the Regional commander has taken steps to ensure an incident-free and crime-free holiday.

“We would flood the streets. We would do both night and day patrols. We would also be on the road directing traffic and there would be the deployment of plain cloth personnel and uniform personnel as well in the city,” he said.

Some of the residents who also spoke to JoyNews shared their expectations ahead of the festive season. According to the residents, they want to see more police check points and patrol teams in the city and the highways.