On September 29, 2026, Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin dismissed a motion filed by the Minority caucus to establish an Ad Hoc committee to examine a series of major narcotics interceptions linked to Ghana. The motion, filed by Tolon MP Habib Iddrisu, sought to probe port security, customs procedures, and Ghana's cooperation with international law-enforcement agencies. Bagbin ruled the motion out of order, citing several procedural grounds, including Standing Orders 5, 6, 103, Rule F, Order 192, and Order 233.
The motion was brought to Parliament's emergency sitting, convened specifically to address the issue. It called for the creation of a special parliamentary committee to scrutinize large-scale narcotics interceptions connected to consignments that passed through Ghana. The incidents at the center of the motion included the seizure of 3.9 metric tonnes of a controlled substance by French Customs at Dunkirk on September 10, 2026, valued at approximately $261 million.
The proposed committee aimed to establish how the seized consignments were processed and cleared at Ghanaian ports, including what scanning, physical inspection, and intelligence profiling procedures were applied before departure. The motion also intended to identify the companies, state agencies, and other entities involved in handling the consignments, subject to the limits of any ongoing criminal proceedings.
Beyond that, the committee would have assessed the adequacy of security infrastructure at Ghana's ports, airports, and other exit and entry points, covering surveillance, scanning technology, and intelligence capabilities. The Minority further sought parliamentary oversight of the status of arrests, prosecutions, and the level of cooperation between Ghanaian authorities and their international counterparts in law enforcement.
With the Speaker's ruling, the motion will not proceed to committee stage, and the proposed parliamentary inquiry has been brought to a close at this stage. Earlier, President John Dramani Mahama had directed the formation of an inter-agency task force to draw up a concrete plan to stop narcotics smuggling through Ghana's borders. The directive came out of an emergency meeting Mahama personally chaired with senior security officials on Thursday, September 17, 2026.
The task force has been given a two-week window to present a detailed roadmap of recommended measures. This move is part of a broader effort to tackle the issue of narcotics smuggling in Ghana. The President's directive and the proposed parliamentary inquiry reflect the government's concern about the recent high-profile narcotics seizures.
The rejected motion and the President's directive highlight the complexities and challenges of addressing narcotics smuggling in Ghana. The issue requires a comprehensive approach that involves multiple stakeholders, including law enforcement agencies, port authorities, and international partners. The government's efforts to tackle the issue will be closely watched by the public and other stakeholders.
Key points
- The Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin rejected the Minority motion to investigate recent high-profile narcotics seizures.
- The motion sought to probe port security, customs procedures, and Ghana's cooperation with international law-enforcement agencies.
- President John Dramani Mahama has directed the formation of an inter-agency task force to stop narcotics smuggling through Ghana's borders.
