Lawsuit filed at Abuja's ECOWAS Court alleges Ghana enables unsafe US deportations to Togo
Lawyers filed a lawsuit Monday at Abuja's ECOWAS Community Court of Justice against Ghana for facilitating US deportations of people facing persecution risks. The suit alleges Ghana violates regional law by sending deportees to neighboring Togo without documents after receiving them from the US under Trump's expanded third-country deportation policy.
At least 60 people have been deported to Ghana since September 2025 under this arrangement, with 27 represented in the lawsuit. None remain in Ghana - lawyers say they're now in hiding or have fled to third countries where they wait in legal limbo. Shortly after the deportation agreement began, the US lifted visa restrictions it had placed on Ghana.
The lawsuit follows a similar case filed earlier this month at the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights challenging US deportations to Equatorial Guinea. Deportees in the ECOWAS case had sought and mostly obtained asylum or legal protections in the US before being sent to Ghana.
With deportations continuing under expanded Trump policies targeting even those with legal protections, what precautions should West Africans with uncertain immigration status take regarding travel or residency plans given these third-country transfer risks?