A Nigerian recently deported from the United States to Ghana has raised alarm that he is stranded in Togo after Ghanaian officials allegedly transferred him and five others across the border.
The man, who spoke to the BBC on condition of anonymity, said they were first told they would be relocated from a military camp to more comfortable accommodation but were instead left in Togo.
According to him, they were smuggled through a back route into Togo, reportedly after bribes were paid to local police, without the knowledge of Togolese authorities.
He said: “They did not take us through the main border; they took us through the back door. They paid the police there and dropped us in Togo.”
The deportee revealed that four of them, three Nigerians and a Liberian, have since lodged in a hotel in Lomé, the Togolese capital, without any form of identification.
‘’They are relying on hotel staff to receive financial assistance from relatives abroad. We’re struggling to survive in Togo without any documentation.
“None of us has family in Togo. We’re just stuck in a hotel. Right now, we’re just trying to survive until our lawyers can help us with this situation,’’ he explained.
He also described the conditions at the Ghanaian military camp where they were first kept as unbearable.
“Life there was really hard, so we asked for a better place, better medication, better healthcare and better water,’’ he told the BBC.
He added that days later, when officials came and claimed to be moving them to a hotel, they ended up across the border instead.
“When we arrived, we asked what we were doing at the border, and they told us they wanted us to sign some paperwork, so they could take us to a hotel, but we didn’t sign anything,” he said.
The Nigerian further lamented the personal toll of the deportation, saying: “I have a house in the US where my kids live.
‘’How am I supposed to pay the mortgage? I don’t know how they’ll manage while I’m gone. My kids can’t see me, and it’s just so stressful.’’
The deportee, who is a member of the Yoruba Self-Determination Movement, said he fears returning to Nigeria could expose him to arrest or torture. He also claimed to have US court-ordered protection against deportation, but the US government has not explained why he was removed.
He was part of a group of West Africans, including Togolese, Liberians and Gambians, who were flown from US detention centres to Ghana last month.
Lawyers acting for them have already filed suits against both the US and Ghana, alleging rights violations.
Ghana’s Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa defended the country’s decision, saying the deportees were received purely on the basis of “pan-African empathy” and not financial gain.
The deal, announced by President John Mahama, has been faulted by opposition lawmakers, who want it suspended until parliament ratifies it.
Despite the criticism, government insisted it will take in another 40 deportees.
In Nigeria, both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) said last week they had no knowledge of any Nigerian being deported to Ghana by the US government.
