Accra High Court to Hear Case of 11 West African Deportees from U.S.

An Accra High Court, Land Division, will on Monday, September 23, 2025, hear two ex parte applications filed by 11 West African nationals challenging their detention in Ghana following their deportation from the United States.

The applicants are seeking an interim injunction to stop their deportation to their respective home countries and a writ of Habeas Corpus, compelling the government to justify the basis for their detention and produce them before the court.

The group includes Daniel Osas Aigbosa, Ahmed Animashaun, Ifeanyi Okechukwu, and Taiwo K. Lawson (Nigeria); Kalu John (Liberia); Zito Yao Bruno and Agouda Richarla Oukpedzo Sikiratou (Togo); Sidiben Dawda (Gambia); and Toure Dianke and Boubou Gassama (Mali). Ghana has already accepted 14 deportees as part of the U.S. government’s immigration clampdown under President Donald Trump.

At a virtual sitting, Presiding Judge Justice Priscilla Dikro said she required additional time to review the applications before issuing a ruling. Counsel for the applicants, Mr Oliver Barker-Vormawor, argued the matter was urgent, stressing that his clients were being unlawfully detained. The suit names the Attorney-General, Chief of Defence Staff, and the Comptroller-General of the Ghana Immigration Service as respondents.

In affidavits, the deportees claim they were secretly removed from U.S. detention centres between September 5 and 6, shackled, and forcibly transported to Ghana without prior notice. Upon arrival, they allege they were confined in a military facility without access to due process or judicial oversight.

The applicants argue that their detention violates Article 14(1) of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution, which guarantees personal liberty, and Article 23, which upholds administrative justice. They also cite the principle of non-refoulement, which bars the forced return of individuals to countries where they risk persecution or torture.

Mr Barker-Vormawor disclosed 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), protecting them from deportation due to risks of torture or persecution.

The applicants are urging the High Court to enforce their rights under Article 33(1) of the Constitution and provide immediate protection consistent with Ghana’s constitutional and international obligations. The court will first consider the interim applications on September 23, before addressing the substantive human rights case.