In Ghana, a former hostage held in Burkina Faso by the Jnim terrorist group linked to al-Qaeda decides, four years after the events, to recount this traumatic experience. The Ghanaian National Commission for Civic Education used this story to raise awareness of the risks of extremist indoctrination.
2 mins
With our correspondent in Accra, Victor Cariou
This testimony given to the BBC on condition of anonymity, in which this Ghanaian who calls himself James reports on the recruitment strategies used by terrorists, especially among young people in the sub-region.
Mawuli Agbenu remembers very well his first meeting in 2023 with the man who calls himself James. He was then in charge of the NCCE, the National Commission for Civic Education in the Upper Eastern Region. “ We were conducting a study on risk factors. Then we went to interview students from Bolgatanga University. It was during one of these interviews that I met the man who calls himself James, and he told me his story “, he explains.
Risk of indoctrination
A story then transcribed by the BBC, in which James recounts, among other things, having seen children trained by the Jnim to carry out kamikaze attacks. Although most of the captives were Burkinabe, the risk of indoctrination of young Ghanaians living in the north of the country remains very real according to Mawuli Agbenu.
“ The ethnic groups we have from this part of Ghana are the same as in Burkina Faso; therefore, everything that happens in Burkina Faso can have consequences in Ghana. In addition, there is high inflation there coupled with a high unemployment rate, which makes these people vulnerable and more easily recruited. », he explains.
An economic and social context aggravated by ethnic conflicts regularly punctuating the area. This is the reason why the NCCE, financed in particular by the European Union, still carries out meetings and awareness-raising activities among young people today, especially in the north of Ghana, drawing in particular on the history of James, survivor of the jihadists.