Mr. Asante Gyebi, the Acting Director of Policy, Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation at the Small Arms Commission, has issued a stern warning: individuals who fail to surrender their unlicensed firearms under the Gun Amnesty initiative will be treated as “criminally minded” once the grace period expires.
Introduced under the directive of President John Dramani Mahama, the initiative aims to remove unregistered firearms from circulation without the threat of prosecution for those who comply.
According to Mr. Gyebi, the response has been significant saying over 1,500 unregistered guns have been surrendered so far.
Some owners have opted to give up their weapons permanently while others have used the opportunity to begin the process of legal licensing.
Speaking on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM’s Nyankonton Mu Nsem, Mr. Gyebi emphasized that the window for voluntary compliance is closing.
Carrying an unlicensed firearm is a felony, punishable by a fine, a prison sentence of up to ten years, or both.
To bolster enforcement after the deadline, the Commission plans to implement new detection strategies.
He further noted that the Commission is moving toward a more proactive enforcement phase. This includes the introduction of a reward system where informants will be compensated for providing credible details about individuals owning illegal firearms.
Additionally, he stated that the Commission has systems in place specifically designed to help detect unlicensed guns within the system.
With the deadline set for the end of today, Mr. Gyebi urged the public to act immediately.
“We will introduce a reward system where persons who are able to disclose to us that some individuals have unlicensed guns would be rewarded should their information turn out to be credible. We also have systems that will help us detect unlicensed guns in the system. So, we encourage those who take advantage of the amnesty as it ends today to surrender their unlicensed guns. You will be regarded as a criminally minded person if you fail to surrender your unlicensed gun. Such an offence is a felony and can get you convicted of a fine, a ten-year jail sentence, or both.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Gha
