Nigerian Who Resisted Deportation from US Beaten, Forced on Plane, Dumped in Togo
- West Africans deported from the United States are stranded in Togo after being secretly moved through Ghana without passports or legal documents
- Deportees include Nigerian and Liberian nationals who had court protections in the US but were forcibly sent to Ghana and later dumped at the Togolese border
- Human rights groups and the UN have called on Ghana to stop the transfers, warning that deportees face persecution and possible torture in their home countries
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West Africans deported from the United States under a controversial removal programme are stranded in Togo after being moved through Ghana without proper documentation.
Lawyers and deportees say the group, made up of nationals from several West African countries, was taken to the Togolese border and left without identification or official clearance to enter the country, AFP reported.
Source: Getty Images
The case surfaced earlier this month after Ghanaian President John Mahama confirmed that his government had agreed to receive deportees from the United States.
According to Ghanaian officials, at least 28 people have arrived so far on two US flights, though exact figures remain unclear. Some of the deportees had secured protection orders from US immigration courts barring their return to their countries of origin because of the risk of persecution.
Benjamin, a Nigerian who requested that only his first name be used, said he was placed on a military plane bound for Ghana despite a court ruling that prohibited his deportation to Nigeria.
He described being beaten by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers after he refused to board the aircraft.
“The situation is terrible,” he said, explaining that he now shares a single-bed hotel room in Togo with three other deportees and survives on money wired by relatives in the United States.
Source: Getty Images
Another deportee, Emmanuel, a Liberian national, said he fled Liberia in the 1990s and was granted asylum in the United States. Both men held green cards, were married to American citizens and were still challenging their removals when they were suddenly flown to Ghana.
Emmanuel recounted spending more than two weeks under military guard at Ghana’s Dema Camp with nine others, enduring heat, mosquitoes and unsafe drinking water.
The group was later told they were being taken to a hotel but were instead driven to the Aflao border near Lomé.
From there, Ghanaian soldiers and Togolese border officials allegedly escorted them through an unofficial crossing and abandoned them on the Togolese side.
“We are in hiding right now because we have no type of documents, ID whatsoever,” Emmanuel said.
One Gambian man was reportedly sent back to his home country immediately after arrival in Ghana despite court protections.
UN condemns secret deportation of West Africans
Human rights advocates warn that some deportees face serious risks if returned to their original countries, including imprisonment or violence.
The United Nations human rights office has urged Ghana to halt transfers to any nation where deportees could be subjected to torture or persecution.
Both the Ghanaian and Togolese governments have yet to respond publicly, while the US State Department said it will continue to remove individuals who have no legal basis to remain in the country.
Nigerian man living in U.S. for 10 years arrested
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that a Nigerian national previously convicted of sexual offenses against a Maryland minor has been arrested in Lanham by Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Baltimore.
The 37-year-old was taken into custody on August 2 by deportation officers from ERO’s Criminal Apprehension Program outside his residence.
Source: Legit.ng
