The Labour Division of the High Court in Accra has scheduled Tuesday, September 23, 2025, to hear two ex-parte applications filed by eleven West African nationals challenging their continued detention in Ghana following deportation from the United States.
The group is seeking two key reliefs: an interim injunction to prevent any plans to deport them to their respective countries and a writ of habeas corpus compelling the state to present them before the court to justify their detention.
During a virtual session on Thursday, September 18, Justice Priscilla Dikro noted that additional time was needed to review the applications before issuing a ruling. Counsel for the applicants, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, emphasized the urgency of the case, insisting that the detention of his clients was unlawful.
According to the legal team, President John Dramani Mahama has already directed that the deportees be repatriated, a position supported by the Minister for Foreign Affairs. The injunction seeks to block this process, while the habeas corpus application calls for the detainees to be brought before the court for accountability.
The eleven individuals include Nigerians Daniel Osas Aigbosa, Ahmed Animashaun, Ifeanyi Okechukwu, and Taiwo K. Lawson; Liberian national Kalu John; Togolese citizens Zito Yao Bruno and Agouda Richarla Oukpedzo Sikiratou; Gambian national Sidiben Dawda; and Malians Toure Dianke and Boubou Gassama.
The Attorney-General, Chief of Defence Staff, and the Comptroller-General of the Ghana Immigration Service have all been named as respondents. The applicants argue that their fundamental rights under Ghana’s 1992 Constitution have been violated.
In supporting affidavits, the group alleges that they were forcibly removed from U.S. detention centers between September 5 and 6, 2025, shackled, and transported to Ghana without prior notice or explanation. They claim they were subsequently handed over to Ghanaian authorities and detained at what they believe to be a military facility without access to legal counsel or court processes.
The applicants maintain that their detention violates Article 14(1) of the Constitution, which guarantees personal liberty, and Article 23, which protects the right to administrative justice. They further argue that their forced return breaches the international principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits deporting individuals to countries where they risk persecution, torture, or other inhumane treatment.
Their lawyers emphasize that at least eight of the applicants had previously been granted “Withholding of Removal” or “Deferral of Removal” under the U.S. Convention Against Torture (CAT) proceedings, legally barring their deportation to their countries of origin.
The High Court will first consider the interim applications on September 23, after which the main case seeking enforcement of their fundamental human rights will proceed.
Source: Adomonline
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