Eleven people deported from the United States have taken legal action against the Ghanaian government, claiming they are being held illegally in a military facility.
Their lawyer, Oliver-Barker Vormawor, told the BBC that the deportees had not broken any Ghanaian law, making their detention unlawful. He demanded that authorities present the detainees in court and explain why they were being kept against their will.
The government has not responded to the lawsuit. It has, however, previously said it plans to accept another 40 deportees under the US-Ghana agreement.
Opposition MPs have called for an immediate suspension of the deportation arrangement until parliament formally ratifies it, insisting that such approval is required by Ghanaian law.
Last week, President John Mahama announced that 14 deportees of West African origin had arrived in Ghana under an agreement with the US.
He later claimed all had been returned to their countries of origin, but Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa contradicted him, stating that only most of them had left. The court filing by Vormawor disputes both statements, saying 11 deportees remain in detention.
The detainees were previously held in a US facility and were transported to Ghana in a military cargo plane while shackled, according to documents filed in court.
The deportations are part of the US government's stringent immigration measures since President Donald Trump took office in January, which include promises to carry out record-level deportations of undocumented migrants.
Ghana’s foreign minister told Reuters that the decision to accept the deportees was based on "humanitarian principle and pan-African empathy," emphasizing that it should not be seen as support for the US administration’s immigration policies.
Meanwhile, five of the detainees, three Nigerians and two Gambians have also filed a lawsuit against the US government.
They argue that a court order had protected them from deportation, and that their removal violated that legal protection.
