Treat military aviation safety as national security priority - Adib Saani

Adib Saani, Executive Director of the Jatikay Centre for Human Security and Peace Building, called on the government to treat military aviation safety as a national security priority, warning that aviation failures involving senior state officials could threaten the continuity of government. He made this call in an interview with the Ghana News Agency as the country marked the August 6, 2026, military helicopter crash at Adansi Akrofuom in the Ashanti Region.

The Ghana Armed Forces Z-9EH military helicopter departed Accra at 9:12 a.m. for Obuasi but crashed in the general area of Siaman, near Adansi Akrofuom, killing all eight people on board. The victims included Defence Minister Dr Edward Kofi Omane Boamah, Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Alhaji Dr Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, Acting Deputy National Security Coordinator Alhaji Muniru Mohammed, former Ashanti Regional Minister and NDC Vice Chairman Dr Samuel Sarpong, former parliamentary candidate Samuel Aboagye, and three Ghana Air Force personnel: Squadron Leader Peter Baafemi Anala, Flying Officer Manaen Twum Ampadu, and Sergeant Ernest Addo Mensah. President John Dramani Mahama subsequently established an Investigative Board of Inquiry to determine the cause of the accident, with the flight-data and cockpit-voice recorders retrieved as part of the investigation.