Keypoints:
- Ghana accepted 14 US deportees from Nigeria, Gambia
- Lawyers allege rights abuses and harsh treatment
- US third-country deportation policy faces backlash
GHANA has defended its decision to receive 14 immigrants deported by the United States despite mounting criticism from rights groups and lawyers who argue the transfers violate international law. The move places Ghana among a small but increasing number of African nations cooperating with Washington’s controversial third-country deportation programme, a policy advanced by US President Donald Trump.
Authorities in Accra confirmed on Monday that the group—13 Nigerians and one Gambian—arrived last week and have since left Ghana for their respective countries. None of the deportees is Ghanaian.
‘Purely on humanitarian principle’
Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said Ghana accepted the deportees ‘purely on humanitarian principle’ and because of shared regional ties. ‘We just could not continue to take the suffering of our fellow West Africans,’ he told reporters, explaining that Ghana stepped in after other West African nations reportedly declined to accept the migrants.
Government Communications Minister Felix Kwakye Ofosu told the Associated Press that arrangements were made to send the Nigerians home by bus, a journey of around eight hours. President John Mahama added that the Gambian migrant was also on route to his homeland.
Deportees allege harsh treatment
According to a lawsuit filed in the United States, the migrants were woken in the middle of the night on September 5 and transported on a US military cargo plane without being told their destination for hours. Lawyers representing the group claim some had legal orders protecting them from deportation due to fears of torture in their home countries.
The suit further alleges that the deportees were restrained in ‘straitjackets’ for 16 hours and detained in ‘abysmal and deplorable’ conditions upon arrival in Ghana. Ghanaian officials have rejected those allegations, saying they had no control over the migrants’ treatment before arrival.
Wider policy under fire
The US has implemented similar third-country deportation agreements across Latin America and Africa. Countries including Eswatini, Rwanda and South Sudan have received migrants deported from the US, while Uganda has agreed to a deal but not yet accepted any deportees. In Latin America, Venezuela, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama have been involved in related transfers, and Paraguay recently signed an agreement with Washington.
Human rights advocates have condemned the policy. Maureen A. Sweeney, an immigration lawyer and law professor at the University of Maryland, said the deportations show ‘extreme indifference’ to the US government’s obligations and to the human consequences of mass removals.
Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed surprise that its citizens were sent first to Ghana, saying it had rejected only the deportation of non-Nigerian nationals into Nigeria.
As Ghana stands by its decision, lawyers for the migrants argue the case underscores the legal and ethical challenges of Washington’s third-country deportation programme and the pressure on African nations balancing humanitarian claims with diplomatic interests.
