The Ministry of the Interior has announced an extension of the Gun Amnesty Programme (GAP) to 30th January 2026 as part of ongoing efforts to curb the spread of illicit and unregistered firearms across the country. The programme was originally declared on 18th November 2025.
The initial amnesty period, which began on 1st December 2025 and was scheduled to end on 15th January 2026, received widespread public support and cooperation nationwide. Due to the strong response and continued engagement, government has approved an extension to allow more individuals to comply.
According to the Ministry, consultations with traditional leaders, religious bodies, civil society organisations, and the general public, along with continuous sensitisation efforts, have shown that additional time is necessary. This will enable more people—especially those in hard-to-reach communities—to voluntarily surrender or register firearms without fear. As a result, the Gun Amnesty has been extended by two weeks, running from 16th to 30th January 2026.
The extension seeks to intensify public education, deepen community involvement, and provide further opportunity for law-abiding citizens to hand over or register unlicensed or illicit firearms without facing interrogation, arrest, or prosecution. Individuals who earlier declared their intention to register firearms during the initial amnesty period will be able to do so within this extended window.
The Ministry, however, stressed that this extension represents the final opportunity for compliance. After 30th January 2026, security agencies will heighten intelligence-led operations, targeted searches, and enforcement actions nationwide to recover illegal firearms and prosecute offenders.
Any person found in possession of an unregistered or illicit firearm after the expiration of the amnesty period will be arrested and dealt with according to the law, with strict consequences.
The Ministry of the Interior reiterated that the Gun Amnesty Programme is not intended as a witch-hunt, but rather a critical national initiative designed to save lives, enhance community safety, and uphold Ghana’s reputation as a peaceful and stable country.
The Ministry further appealed to chiefs, elders, religious and opinion leaders, youth groups, community organisations, and the media to continue supporting the programme by encouraging compliance within their respective communities.
Every firearm handed over reduces the risk to lives and livelihoods. The call remains clear: silence the guns for collective safety.
Guns down, Ghana up!
The statement was signed by Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak (MP), Minister for the Interior, and issued in Accra on Thursday, January 15, 2026.
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