Ashanti, North East and Northern regions record highest surges of small arms proliferation-Arms commission 1st quarter report reveals
The Ghana Commission on Small Arms and Light Weapons has released first quarter 2025 monitoring of violent incidents in Ghana, the number of gun violence incidents tracked amounted to fifty-three (53).
This, the commission said, marks a rise by 38 incidents representing 72% when compared to the first quarter of 2024 which recorded 15-gun violence incidents.
The commission said the data when compared to the last quarter of 2024, there is an increase, though slow in gun violent incidents as 47-gun violence incidents were recorded in the last quarter of 2024 compared to the 53 incidents recorded in the first quarter of 2025.
Gun violence the report said, was heavily concentrated in the Middle Zone, contributing 45% of total cases, followed by the Northern (38%) and Coastal zones (17%).
The report was signed by the acting Executive Secretary of Small Arms and Light Weapons Dr Adam Amdamu Boanaa and Head of Research Mr Aaron Apronti Akwafo.
The report highlights a dramatic 253.3% increase in gun violence incidents, rising from 15 in the first quarter of 2024 to 53 in the first quarter of 2025, with the Ashanti, North East, and Northern regions recording the highest surges.
Armed robbery, violent confrontations, and chieftaincy disputes it added were the leading causes of incidents, collectively accounting for over 60% of reported cases.
The report also indicates that males were both the primary perpetrators representing 59% and victims 67% of gun violence, with 64 out of 72 deaths occurring among men.
A significant number of weapons (54%) the report indicated found at crime scenes were unidentified, posing a major challenge for tracing and controlling arms proliferation.
Gun-related crimes it pointed out extended to 15 out of 16 regions in 2025, compared to just 9 in 2024, demonstrating a widening geographic spread and intensifying national security concern.
The commission expressed deep concern about the rise in gun related incidents across various regions in Ghana.
The majority of those involved in these incidents, it said, are men, both as perpetrators and victims, with a significant number of cases where the gender remains undetermined.
