Eleven people deported from the United States have filed a lawsuit against the Ghanaian government, accusing it of unlawfully detaining them in a military camp, BBC News Africa reports.
According to their lawyer, Oliver-Barker Vormawor, the deportees had not broken any Ghanaian law and should be produced before a court to justify why they were being held.
Court papers claim the group was held in a US detention facility before being shackled and flown to Ghana aboard a military cargo aircraft.
The Ghanaian government has yet to respond to the lawsuit.
However, it has previously stated that it expects to accept an additional 40 deportees under a controversial agreement with Washington.
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Opposition lawmakers have criticized President John Mahama for failing to present the deal before parliament for ratification, arguing that Ghana’s constitution requires such approval.
Unfortunately the case has also been clouded by conflicting official statements.
President Mahama announced last week that 14 West African deportees had arrived in Ghana but were subsequently returned to their home countries.
Yet, Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa later said only “most” had been returned. Vormawor’s legal filing directly contradicts both accounts, asserting that 11 remain in custody in Ghana.
The deportations come as part of US President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown, which aims to carry out record numbers of removals.
Five of the detainees—three Nigerians and two Gambians—have also sued the US government, arguing that they were protected by a court order and should not have been deported.
Ghana’s foreign minister defended the decision to accept the deportees, telling Reuters that it was based on “humanitarian principle and pan-African empathy,” not an endorsement of US immigration policies.
The lawsuit is likely to intensify political debate in Accra, where opposition MPs are demanding an immediate suspension of the deportation deal until parliament approves it.
Image Credit: BBC
