A Nigerian man deported from the United States (U.S) has leveled shocking accusations against Ghanaian authorities, claiming they secretly “dumped” him and five other West African nationals across the border into Togo.
The Nigerian man deported from the U.S. claimed that Ghanaian authorities dumped them without documents or support, leaving them stranded in a foreign land.
The anonymous Nigerian, who spoke with the press, described the ordeal as a betrayal of trust after Ghana agreed to accept deportees from the U.S as part of a controversial regional pact.
The Nigerian man deported from the U.S said the situation occurred after they were informed they would be moved from a military camp to better accommodation, but were then “dumped” in Togo.
“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,” he said.
The Nigerian man further revealed that they are a group of four, three Nigerians and a Liberian, who were checked into a hotel in Lomé, the Togolese capital, which lies just across the border from where they were abandoned.
He continued: “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.”
“Life there was really hard, so we asked for a better place, better medication, better healthcare, and better water.
“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.
“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.”
Pan-Atlantic Kompass reports that the development came after the U.S. deported 14 West Africans to Ghana.
Recall that Ghana’s President, John Dramani Mahama recently announced that his administration had accepted some West African deportees from the U.S. He justified the decision by saying West Africans “don’t need a visa anyway” to come to Ghana.
“We were approached by the US to accept third-party nationals who were being removed from the US, and we agreed with them that West African nationals were acceptable because all our fellow West Africans don’t need a visa to come to our country,” he said.
Recall also that days after accepting the deportees, the government of the United States announced that it had lifted visa restrictions on Ghana, restoring full visa privileges for Ghanaians.
The U.S. government announced that Ghanaians will no longer be entitled to three-month visas.
The decision to lift visa restrictions on Ghana was made known in a press statement issued by the U.S. Embassy in Ghana.
The development came months after the U.S had announced a restriction that limited Ghanaians to a maximum of three-month single-entry visas.
The same restrictive measure was also imposed on Nigeria at the same time in July this year.
The statement issued by the U.S Embassy in Ghana reads: “The U.S. Embassy is pleased to announce that the maximum validity periods for all categories of non-immigrant visas for Ghanaians have been restored to their previous lengths.
“The maximum validity allowed for the B1/B2 visitor visa is again five years, multiple entry. The maximum validity for the F1 student visa is again four years, multiple entry.”
