Ghana’s domestic intelligence agency is known as the NIB. The NIB is a key component of Ghana’s National Security Council, which is in charge of counterintelligence and internal security.
The NIB has investigative authority over a wide variety of criminal offenses, including the arrest, detention, and interrogation of suspects.
The National Intelligence Bureau’s investigates crimes of any shape or form as enshrined in the constitution of Ghana and such responsibilities include dealing with organized crime and financial crime, intelligence gathering, sabotage, terrorism, hijacking, piracy, and drug trafficking, as well as providing intelligence to counter threats to Ghana’s national security It also performs such other functions as the President or the council may direct.
The BNI has overriding statutory authority over other security services
The Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) changed its name to the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) on November 23, 2020 and the change was announced in the Daily Graphic newspaper. It was reported that the change was in line with Section 12 of the Security and Intelligence Agencies Act, 2020 (ACT 1030) and takes immediate effect.
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History
NIB (BNI) was established in 1996 and was referred in the past as the “Special Branch”. It was created out of the Security and Intelligence Agencies Act (Act 526) 1996, having been continued in existence by Section 10 of that Act.
Unform of the NIB
Due to the secretive nature of the NIB operations, they dress in civilian cloth(plain cloth) when they go out to work on investigations so they do not have a formal uniform used to identify them except for their badges which reveals their identity.
They try to fit into society and provide intelligence for safeguarding national security ans since their roles are very delicate, they could be harmed by other spies if they are detected so the best way for them is to go in civilian clothes.