Lawyer and activist Oliver Barker-Vormawor has criticised the Ghanaian government’s handling of deportees from the United States, describing the process as “inhumane” and a violation of both Ghanaian and international law.
Speaking on JoyNews’ AM Show, Barker-Vormawor revealed that more than 20 West African nationals, including a Sierra Leonean woman, were forcibly removed from their hotel in Accra on Tuesday, November 11, by officers of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS).
The deportees, who had reportedly refused to comply with deportation directives, were part of a group brought into Ghana under an agreement between the governments of Ghana and the United States. According to Barker-Vormawor, the agreement allows Ghana to receive individuals that the US cannot deport to their home countries due to fears of persecution or torture.
However, he said the process violates due process under Ghanaian law.
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“First of all, under Ghanaian law, you cannot deport a person without a court order. Two, you cannot do so without an executive instrument by the minister. None of that was in place at the time I arrived,” Barker-Vormawor said.
He recounted how a Sierra Leonean woman, believed to be a registered nurse who had lived in the US for 35 years, was forcibly removed from her hotel room at Vicsem Hotel in Ogbojo, Accra. She reportedly pleaded to remain in Ghana because she had no family in Sierra Leone but was denied and suffered an asthma attack during the confrontation.
The activist also accused immigration officials of detaining journalists covering the incident.
“In fact, there was a journalist from RFI who tried to capture this. He was arrested, his camera seized, and compelled to delete the videos,” he alleged.
Barker-Vormawor further disclosed that his team had filed a case at the Supreme Court challenging the legality of Ghana’s agreement with the US to receive deportees. He argued that the arrangement contradicts both Ghana’s Constitution and international human rights conventions.
“Our position is that the agreement violates Ghana’s Constitution and international law. Nearly 60 people have so far been received into the country under this arrangement,” he said.
He also revealed that some Nigerian deportees were allegedly taken to the Togo border and abandoned after arriving in Ghana.
The Ghana Immigration Service has yet to comment publicly on Barker-Vormawor’s claims, but the development has stirred renewed debate about Ghana’s cooperation with the US on deportation matters and the treatment of vulnerable migrants.
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