International Relations Expert, Professor Vladmir Antwi-Danso, has questioned Ghana’s decision to accept 14 deportees of West African origin from the United States, raising concerns about transparency, burden-sharing, and accountability.
His comments follow President John Dramani Mahama’s recent disclosure that the group had arrived in Ghana after an agreement with the U.S. government. The move comes in the wake of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s strict immigration policies, which saw record numbers of undocumented migrants deported.
Speaking to TV3, Prof. Antwi-Danso dismissed suggestions that Ghana’s acceptance of the deportees was solely humanitarian.
“It is never true that in such diplomatic relations, you go on humanitarian grounds and you gain nothing. Even on humanitarian grounds, there is something promised. There is no way any relationship is made on the grounds of one side winning and the other side losing. So there must be some promise given us by the Americans before we accepted to bring them here,” he said.
He further criticised the framing of the deportation as Ghana’s responsibility, stressing that the migrants were West African nationals and should have been handled within the ECOWAS framework.
“Again my beef is on the question of they are West Africans, so we were humanitarian enough to bring them. Why should it be the case that America’s immigration problem should be the problem of Ghana and not the problem of ECOWAS? Why did America not negotiate with ECOWAS and negotiated with Ghana? What role is Ghana playing and who is paying for their upkeep here, whatever it is?” he asked.
Meanwhile, the Labour Division of the High Court in Accra has scheduled Tuesday, September 23, 2025, to hear two ex-parte applications filed by eleven of the deportees challenging their detention in Ghana.
The applicants are seeking two reliefs: an interim injunction to stop their deportation to their home countries, and a writ of Habeas Corpus compelling the state to produce them in court and justify the legality of their detention.
At a virtual sitting on Thursday, September 18, Justice Priscilla Dikro said she needed more time to review the applications before ruling.
Counsel for the applicants, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, argued that the matter was urgent, stressing that his clients were being unlawfully detained.
According to the applicants, President Mahama has already announced plans for their deportation, a position backed by the Minister for Foreign Affairs. The interim injunction seeks to halt that process, while the Habeas Corpus writ demands that the government present them before the court.
The eleven applicants include Nigerians Daniel Osas Aigbosa, Ahmed Animashaun, Ifeanyi Okechukwu, and Taiwo K. Lawson; Liberian national Kalu John; Togolese nationals Zito Yao Bruno and Agouda Richarla Oukpedzo Sikiratou; Gambian national Sidiben Dawda; and Malians Toure Dianke and Boubou Gassama.
They have named the Attorney-General, the Chief of Defence Staff, and the Comptroller-General of the Ghana Immigration Service as respondents, insisting that their fundamental human rights have been breached.
Source: Adomonline
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