In a statement signed by its Executive Director, Adib Saani, the Jatikay Centre questioned how applicants with allegedly fraudulent academic credentials were able to progress through the recruitment process and gain admission into security services training institutions in the first place.

The Jatikay Centre for Human Security and Peace Building has called for an urgent audit of Ghana’s security services recruitment and vetting processes following revelations that some recruits were dismissed from training after allegedly submitting forged or doctored WASSCE results.

The Centre welcomed the decision by the authorities to remove individuals whose credentials were proven fraudulent but argued that dismissal alone was insufficient to address the broader concerns raised by the development.

In a statement signed by its Executive Director, Adib Saani, the Jatikay Centre questioned how applicants with allegedly fraudulent academic credentials were able to progress through the recruitment process and gain admission into security services training institutions in the first place.

The Centre said recruitment into the security services should not operate on a system where applicants' documents are accepted initially and verified at a later stage.

It is therefore advocating for the recruitment portal to facilitate early verification of applicants’ academic credentials with the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) before candidates are allowed to proceed further in the recruitment process.

The organisation also expressed concern over the possibility that genuinely qualified applicants could remain waiting to be called while persons who allegedly gained entry through fraudulent documentation had already reached training institutions.

According to the Centre, such a situation goes beyond an administrative lapse and raises questions about fairness, institutional integrity, and public confidence in the security services.

The Jatikay Centre further stressed that forging or knowingly using a forged academic certificate could constitute a criminal offense and urged the relevant authorities to conduct full investigations into the cases.

It called for the prosecution of individuals where evidence establishes criminal wrongdoing, warning that simply dismissing offenders from training could send the wrong signal to other applicants.

The Centre also raised national security concerns, arguing that individuals willing to falsify their academic qualifications to gain entry into security institutions could present broader integrity risks.

It noted that personnel in Ghana’s security institutions are entrusted with weapons, intelligence, restricted facilities, and sensitive information, as well as significant public authority and trust.

The Jatikay Centre is consequently demanding an urgent review of the recruitment and vetting system to establish the number of fraudulent applications detected, how many allegedly fraudulent applicants succeeded in getting through the process, how many may still be undergoing training, and what safeguards are being introduced to prevent similar incidents in the future.

The Centre concluded with a three-point position: “Verify before you recruit; vet before you train; prosecute proven fraud.”

It said protecting the integrity of Ghana’s security services must remain a national priority, stressing that the security of the Republic begins with the integrity of the people recruited to protect it.

Report By: Robicon Mornahson