Unregistered weapons found at security firm linked to Adwoa Safo shooting incident

A cache of registered and unregistered firearms and ammunition has been seized from a private security company linked to the shooting incident involving former lawmaker Sarah Adwoa Safo, Ghana's Interior Minister has said.

Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak said investigators recovered several weapons, including pistols, pump-action guns and large quantities of ammunition, during searches connected to the ongoing investigation into Sunday's incident at Kwabenya, a suburb of Accra.

According to the minister, some of the weapons were legally registered, while others were not, raising concerns about possible breaches of regulations governing private security operations.

"We've seized several caches of arms and ammunition. I have seen side arms, I have seen pump actions, I've seen a lot of ammunition. Some are registered, some are not registered, and all that is an infraction of the regulation that establishes the private security organisation," Mr Mubarak told Joy FM on Tuesday.

He said the discoveries were among the reasons authorities had suspended the operating licence of Kantanka Private Security, which has been linked to the incident under investigation.

"These are the reasons why we have to revoke their licence while we go deep into investigations to establish why they had to do all that," he said.

The shooting incident occurred against the backdrop of an ongoing succession dispute within the Kristo Asafo Mission following the death of its founder, Apostle Professor Kwadwo Safo, in September 2025.

The dispute has triggered competing claims over the leadership of the church and its affiliated institutions, with court proceedings already underway.

Mr Mubarak said a court injunction had been issued to halt a ceremony related to the succession process, prompting the deployment of police officers to the church premises to

enforce the order and maintain public order.

However, he said organisers allegedly moved the event from the church grounds to a private residence in Kwabenya linked to Israel Kwadwo Safo, one of the central figures in the dispute.

"The regional police command were there in their numbers," the minister said. "Then I'm told that along the line, they heard that they've changed the venue and they were trying to locate where they were when this incident happened."

He described the developments as "very unfortunate", adding that authorities had expected the parties involved to comply with the court process.

The minister also alleged that the security company had breached regulations governing private security firms by using firearms and operating outside approved standards.

Under Ghanaian law, private security companies are subject to strict controls regarding their operations, including regulations covering uniforms, conduct and the use of weapons.

"We realised that they are using a different uniform, they are using firearms which is against the regulation that established private security organisations, so we had to revoke the licence and investigate to make sure that punitive actions are taken," he said.

Mr Mubarak said nine people had so far been arrested in connection with the case, including Israel Kwadwo Safo. He added that several firearms, including pistols and pump-action guns, had been seized as part of the investigation.

Police have not yet announced formal charges relating to the weapons recovered, and investigations remain ongoing.

The case has intensified scrutiny of Ghana's private security sector and prompted renewed calls for stricter enforcement of firearms regulations following the government's recent decision to tighten oversight of licensed weapons nationwide.