A Nigerian man deported from the United States to Ghana has said he is now stranded in Togo, after being moved there by Ghanaian authorities without proper documentation or explanation.
He told the BBC that he and five other West African deportees were taken across the border secretly and left in the capital, Lomé, where they are now staying in a hotel with no official papers.
Reports cite that the man, who requested anonymity for security reasons, was among several deportees flown to Ghana from the United States as part of a broader US immigration enforcement policy. He said Ghanaian officers took them from a military camp in Ghana, where they had been held, under the pretext of moving them to better accommodation.
Alleged Secret Transfer Through Back Routes
The said man claimed that Ghanaian immigration officers did not take them through official border control, but instead used an unofficial route to enter Togo.
He said, “They did not take us through the main border; they took us through the back door. They paid the police there and dropped us in Togo.”
He also alleged that Togolese authorities were not informed of their entry.
Togo has not officially responded to the allegations. The group includes three Nigerians and a Liberian who are now staying at a hotel in Lomé. According to the Nigerian man, they are depending on hotel staff to help receive money from relatives abroad. “We’re struggling to survive in Togo without any documentation,” he said.
Poor Conditions in Ghana Before Transfer
Further reports reveal that before the transfer to Togo, the deportees were held in a military camp in Ghana. The source said they had complained to authorities about the living conditions, which he described as difficult. “We asked for a better place, better medication, better healthcare and better water,” he told the BBC.
He said immigration officers later told them they were being moved to a hotel, but instead took them across the border into Togo without explanation or legal processing.
“When we arrived, we asked what we were doing at the border, and they told us they wanted us to sign some paperwork so they could take us to a hotel, but we didn’t sign anything,” he said.
Legal and Political Implications
Ghana’s Foreign Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, earlier said the country accepted the deportees in the spirit of “pan-African empathy.” He also stated that Ghana did not receive any financial compensation for doing so.
The deportation arrangement was announced by President John Mahama, who said the US had approached Ghana to receive deported West Africans, citing the ECOWAS free movement policy.
However, opposition lawmakers in Ghana have called for an immediate suspension of the agreement, pending parliamentary approval. The government plans to accept 40 more deportees.
Legal Action and Concerns About Safety
The deported Nigerian said he fears returning to Nigeria due to his affiliation with the Yoruba Self-Determination Movement, a group advocating for a breakaway state in south-west Nigeria.
While the group is not banned, members have faced arrests. He said he had court-ordered protection in the US, which he believed should have prevented his deportation.
The group’s lawyers are now pursuing legal action against the US and Ghanaian governments, alleging that their clients’ rights were violated during the deportation and transfer process.
