The Eastern Regional National Security Coordinator, Francis Annor Dompreh, has warned traditional leaders and politicians to stay out of the way of the NAIMOS Task Force as it commences operations in the region. According to him security agencies will launch sustained and uncompromising operations against illegal mining in the region after previous warnings failed to stop the menace. Mr. Dompreh argues the situation has become a national security threat.
Addressing the media on Monday, October 13, 2025, Mr. Dompreh said illegal mining has moved beyond an environmental and economic problem to a life-threatening security concern because polluted rivers and destroyed forests affect communities across the region and beyond.
Dompreh described the scale of the problem in parts of the region, citing the case of Kyebi where the Ghana Water Company has been unable to treat river water for nearly three months because silt and mud have turned river bodies unusable for potable supply.
The coordinator said security operatives including soldiers are already in the region and will carry out round-the-clock operations against those who mine in riverbeds or block river flows. He warned that operations will happen day or night and pledged that the security agencies will not spare anyone found engaging in illegal mining.
Dompreh reiterated that licensed mining does not permit activity on river beds or the blocking of river channels, and stressed that once life is endangered the matter becomes a “maximum national security interest.”
He also called for cooperation from the public and traditional authorities to ensure that security teams are not interfered with during the enforcement campaigns
