Femi Ashekun/
Outrage has trailed the deportation of 13 Nigerians and one Gambian who were flown from the United States to Ghana and later sent on to their home countries, despite legal protections shielding some of them from removal.
Lawyers and rights groups say the move puts their lives at risk and exposes them to possible torture or persecution.
According to the Associated Press, Ghana’s Minister for Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, confirmed on Monday that the 14 West Africans “have since left for their home countries,” without specifying when the transfers occurred.
The deportees had initially been taken to Ghana under a U.S. “third country” arrangement before being expelled to Nigeria and The Gambia.
Lawyers representing five of the Nigerians had filed a lawsuit in the U.S., arguing that they had been granted fear-based relief and were legally barred from being returned to places where their safety could not be guaranteed.
They accused the Trump administration of using Ghana as a conduit to sidestep U.S. immigration laws and court orders.
Civil rights advocates described the development as a deliberate evasion of responsibility.
“That the United States knew these individuals were going to be sent to grave danger despite an immigration judge order, and still refused to take any action, is outrageous,” said Lee Gelernt of the American Civil Liberties Union. “It reeks of a scam.”
The deportees’ lawyers further alleged that the men were strapped in straitjackets for up to 16 hours during their flight to Ghana and later held in “squalid conditions” before being returned home.
A U.S. federal judge had earlier asked Washington to explain what steps were being taken to ensure Ghana would not send the migrants onward in violation of court protections.
Ghana, however, rejected claims that it was endorsing U.S. immigration crackdowns. Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa told reporters in Accra that Ghana did not receive any compensation from Washington and only acted out of solidarity with fellow West Africans.
Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was not briefed beforehand and maintained that while it had accepted Nigerians deported directly from the U.S., it had never agreed to accept third-country deportees.
None of the 14 deportees had ties to Ghana or had listed it as a possible country of removal.
Rights groups warn that the U.S. government’s growing use of third-country deportations undermines international protections for asylum seekers and sets a dangerous precedent for migrants facing persecution.
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