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Ghana Deports 11 West African Nationals Despite Pending Human Rights Case
September 25, 2025
Ghana has deported 11 West African nationals despite an ongoing human rights lawsuit seeking to halt their repatriation, lawyers told the High Court in Accra on Tuesday.
The deportees comprising four Nigerians, three Togolese, two Malians, one Gambian and one Liberian had filed legal action challenging their detention in Ghana, arguing that they were being held against their will. They also sought a court injunction to stop their deportation and compel the government to produce them before the court.
However, when the case was called, presiding judge Justice Priscilla Ofori indicated that, given its national and international implications, the motions should have been served on the Attorney General, the Chief of Defence Staff, and the Comptroller-General of Immigration.
“I have perused the necessary order, and considering the fact that the case is of national and international interest, I am of the opinion that it would be in the interest of justice for the two motions brought ex parte to be brought on notice to the respondent for consideration,” Justice Ofori stated.
Lead counsel for the deportees, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, informed the court that the matter had already been overtaken by events since the 11 nationals were deported over the weekend. He therefore requested to withdraw the motions.
“Both applications were of an urgent nature because of the risk of removal of the persons concerned from the jurisdiction. Unfortunately, when we appeared last week Thursday, the court declined our prayer to prevent removal in the interim. By the weekend, they had all been deported, rendering our applications moot. This is precisely the injury we were seeking to prevent,” Barker-Vormawor lamented.
He further urged the court to treat similar cases with urgency in future, warning that Ghana’s agreement with the United States government to accept more refugee seekers could expose others to the same fate.
“As the court has recognised, these matters carry both national and international significance. If urgent applications are not treated with the sensitivity they deserve, our courts risk being disabled from dispensing justice,” he added.
In its ruling, the High Court struck out the applications as withdrawn but expressed displeasure at the government’s deportation of the applicants while the case was pending.
“The court is not happy with the news of the deportation of the persons on whose behalf the applications were filed. However, since counsel has prayed to withdraw the motions, the suit is hereby struck out as withdrawn,” Justice Ofori ruled.
The deportation has raised concerns among rights advocates who fear that due process and human rights safeguards are being undermined in Ghana’s handling of migrants and asylum seekers.
