The Ghana Timber Millers Organisation (GTMO) has strongly condemned the attack on a Forestry Commission timber monitoring checkpoint at Babatokuma in the Bono East Region, during which state property was destroyed, and staff were injured.

In a press release issued on June 16, 2026, the association described the incident, which occurred on Tuesday, June 9, as "barbaric" and called for the arrest and prosecution of those responsible.

"The GTMO is shocked and disappointed by such an incident where members of a timber trade association can attack the staff of the Forestry Commission on an unsubstantiated allegation that the staff at the timber monitoring checkpoint are destroying their timber business," the organisation stated.

The association noted that the destruction of the facility and the injury caused to staff constitute criminal offences, and urged security agencies to fish out the perpetrators and put them before the court.

GTMO expressed concern that illegal timber trade has been running down Ghana's robust timber harvesting regulatory system, which has been recognised among the best in the tropical world.

"Over the past decade, some groups of people have been running down the system by forcefully and violently entering production forests and making away with huge volumes of valuable timber," the association stated.

According to GTMO, illegally sourced logs are sawn in unregistered mills and smuggled into the supply chain, contaminating the market with illegal materials and fueling further illegal logging activities.

"Large tracts of forests in Bono, Ahafo, and Western Regions are now under siege," the statement warned.

The association noted that illegal lumber from these areas is moving across the northern border into Sahelian countries, mainly through the Techiman-Tamale-Bolga-Paga route, which has necessitated stricter control measures by the Forestry Commission in these areas.

GTMO has called on all stakeholders, including forest-owning communities, the National House of Chiefs, environmental NGOs, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Interior, and consumers of timber products, to support the fight against illegal timber exploitation and trade.

The association described the development as a national security issue that must be tackled with all seriousness.

"If this unfortunate development is not effectively controlled, genuine and legal timber businesses will collapse sooner or later, which will lead to massive job losses and a decline in foreign exchange earnings," GTMO warned.

The association reaffirmed its support for the Forestry Commission's efforts to arrest the increasing rate of illegal timber trade and associated social disorders.

"There are specified channels and laid-out procedures for seeking redress to all grievances in the timber trade. The timber sector does not operate in isolation where jungle laws are permitted," the statement emphasised.