The government of Sierra Leone has officially finalized a deal with the United States to accept Nigerians and other Africans deported from the U.S.
The arrangement, confirmed by Sierra Leone’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Timothy Kabba, represents the latest push by the U.S. administration to accelerate third-country removals through bilateral partnerships in Africa.
Under the newly minted Third Country National Agreement, Sierra Leone agreed to take Nigerians deported by U.S. authorities, alongside other nationals from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The diplomatic accord mandates that Sierra Leone will accept up to 300 ECOWAS citizens per year, capped at a maximum of 25 individuals per month.
The inaugural flight under this pact is scheduled to land in Freetown on May 20, 2026, carrying 25 migrants originally from Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, and Guinea.
“Sierra Leone signed a Third Country National Agreement with the U.S. to accept 300 ECOWAS citizens from the U.S. per year with a maximum of 25 a month,” Kabba said, referring to the West African regional bloc.
The U.S. has previously sent third-country deportees to African states including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and Eswatini, drawing criticism from legal experts and rights groups over the legal basis for the transfers and the treatment of deportees sent to countries where they are not nationals.
Sierra Leone’s arrangement to accept only deportees from ECOWAS countries is similar to Ghana’s.
Pan-Atlantic Kompass had reported that deportees have been sent to Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, and elsewhere on the continent where they were further forced to return to their home countries.
In September 2025, the U.S deported a batch of 14 West African migrants—predominantly Nigerian nationals—to Accra, Ghana. Ghanaian President John Mahama defended the decision at the time, noting that under regional free-movement protocols, West African nationals did not require visas to enter Ghana.
A total of five migrants, including three Nigerians and two Gambians, filed a lawsuit against the government of the United States over their deportation to Ghana.
Pan-Atlantic Kompass reports that the migrants, in the lawsuit, accused the U.S government of allegedly violating immigration laws and of inhuman treatment during the process.
The plaintiffs, including three Nigerian nationals and two Gambians, claim the deportation to Ghana circumvented court-ordered protections against return to their home countries due to fears of persecution.
The lawsuit, filed in a Washington, DC federal court on September 13, accused the administration of U.S President Donald Trump of enlisting Ghana as a “third country” to bypass U.S immigration restrictions.
