The Federal Government has dismissed reports that Nigerians deported from the United States were stranded after being allegedly dumped in Togo by Ghanaian authorities, insisting that the returnees are currently undergoing due profiling procedures.
Reacting on Saturday, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) clarified that the deportees were not neglected, explaining that their case was being handled in line with international deportation protocols.
NiDCOM’s Director of Media, Public Relations and Protocols, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, confirmed the development in an interview with Sunday PUNCH.
“We are aware that some Nigerians were deported, but they are not stranded; they are being profiled because their deportation is special, unlike others,” Balogun said.
“Nigeria did not abandon them. There was an agreement between Ghana and the United States for Ghana to receive deportees from the West African sub-region. After receiving them, Ghana took its nationals and sent others, including Nigerians, through Togo for profiling.”
Balogun emphasised that the returnees are still within the framework of official documentation and not left unattended.
His clarification followed reports by a Nigerian deportee who accused Ghanaian authorities of secretly transferring him and other West Africans across the border and abandoning them in Togo.
The deportee, who spoke to the BBC anonymously, claimed that he and three others, a Liberian and two Togolese were moved from a Ghanaian military camp under the guise of being relocated to better accommodation, only to be “dumped” in Togo.
“They didn’t take us through the main border; they used a back route, paid the police, and dropped us in Togo,” he alleged.
He added that the group had been struggling in Lomé, the Togolese capital, where they are staying in a hotel with no identification documents and relying on financial help from relatives abroad.
“We are struggling to survive in Togo without documentation. None of us has family here. We’re stuck in a hotel and just trying to survive until our lawyers can assist,” he said.
The man also described the conditions in the Ghanaian military camp as “deplorable,” citing poor sanitation and limited access to healthcare.
The 14 deportees were part of the first batch of migrants removed from the US under former President Donald Trump’s controversial “third-country deportation” policy, which allows the deportation of migrants to nations other than their countries of origin if repatriation is delayed or refused.
Ghana was the first West African nation to sign a memorandum of understanding with Washington to receive such deportees as part of the policy.
Former Ghanaian President John Mahama and Foreign Minister Samuel Ablakwa had previously confirmed the arrangement, noting that Ghana agreed to take in West African nationals deported from the US under the bilateral accord.
“We have great relations with the Americans. Recently, we have had an understanding with them to accept West African nationals who have been coming into our country,” Ablakwa said in an interview with ChannelOne TV.
As of press time, NiDCOM maintained that the Nigerian government was closely monitoring the situation and working with relevant authorities to ensure the safe return of all affected citizens.