500+ Security Personnel Withdrawn Following Recruitment Irregularities – Interior Minister Discloses

The audit report revealed that the individuals recruited into the security services were admitted before and after the December 2024 General elections.

During the first edition of the Government Accountability Series in Accra on Monday, July 14, 2025, the sector minister noted that a special committee reviewed the records of approximately 5,200 recruits across key security agencies and discovered that hundreds did not meet the basic entry requirements.

He maintained that the review was necessitated by public outbursts over alleged irregularities in recruitment advertisements released in August 2024, just months before the elections. The Minority in Parliament had accused the previous administration of manipulating the process to favour political loyalists.

The audit examined academic qualifications, age limits, and medical fitness.

The affected institutions include:

• Ghana Police Service – about 320 disqualified
• Ghana Immigration Service – roughly 730 removed
• Narcotics Control Commission – around 50 affected

The minister said, “We were able to get out about 320 who were not supposed to be there.”

“Some were in their forties, diabetic, and medically unfit, but they were picked. We had to explain to them that with their condition, they could not remain in the service.”

The sector minister assured that future recruitment will include non-academic positions for tradespeople such as drivers, dressmakers, cooks, and painters, but those selected will be recruited solely for those roles.

“I know people who went to vocational school and became dressmakers. The services need them to sew uniforms,” he said.

“But they must know they’re being recruited as artisans, not officers,” he added.

The Government Accountability Series, introduced by the Presidency, aims to provide regular updates on ministerial performance and governance. Other ministers are expected to present their briefings in the coming weeks.