By Joe Udo
ACCRA (CONVERSEER) – Eleven West Africans who were initially transferred from the United States to Ghana under an agreement with the Trump administration have been deported a second time, despite concerns that some faced the risk of torture or persecution.
The group included four Nigerians, three Togolese, two Malians, one Liberian, and one Gambian.
The deportees had filed a lawsuit against the Ghanaian government last week, with eight of them arguing in court that they had legal protection against deportation due to threats of inhumane treatment in their home countries.
Their lawyer, Barker-Vormawor, accused the authorities of rushing the process without granting the migrants access to legal representation, adding that some have since gone into hiding for safety reasons.
The case has drawn criticism from human rights experts who question the handling of asylum protections under Trump’s deportation programme.
President John Dramani Mahama earlier confirmed that Ghana had agreed to accept nationals from other sub regional countries deported by the U.S. but clarified that the arrangement was not an endorsement of Washington’s immigration policy and did not involve any form of compensation.
