Ghana sued at ECOWAS Court over US deportation deal

Private legal practitioner Oliver Barker-Vormawor, through his law firm Merton and Everett LLP, has filed a lawsuit against the Government of Ghana over its alleged collaboration with the United States in deporting migrants to Ghana under a third-country removal policy.

The suit, filed on behalf of Democracy Hub at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court of Justice in Abuja, Nigeria, on Monday, June 29, 2026, is said to represent 27 of at least 60 deportees who have been sent to Ghana since September 2025.

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According to the filing reported by international media outlet Al Jazeera, the deportees were transferred under Washington’s “third-country” removal policy, which applies to people whom US courts have ruled cannot be deported directly to their countries of origin due to the risk of harm.

The report stated that the complaint alleges the deportees had informed authorities that they had been granted protection in the United States.

Despite this, most of them were reportedly deported from Ghana to the countries they had fled within hours or days of their arrival, while others were left stranded in third countries without the means to continue their journeys.

“No person should be returned to a place where they face persecution, torture, or serious threats to their dignity and safety,” Barker-Vormawor, senior partner at Merton & Everett LLP, was quoted as saying.

Additionally, the report stated that the complaint alleges Ghana is violating both domestic and regional laws by facilitating the removal of deportees to countries where they could face danger.

According to the advocacy groups, the complaint argues that Ghana is “facilitating removals to unsafe countries.”

The suit seeks to compel Ghana to disclose the terms of the deal with the US administration, which it has not yet done.

Furthermore, it also seeks to block Ghana from accepting any future deportees under the arrangement.

The firm filed the lawsuit alongside Cornell Law School’s Transnational Disputes Clinic and the Global Strategic Litigation Council, a coalition of NGOs.

Meanwhile, Barker-Vormawor has confirmed the legal action against the Government of Ghana in a Facebook post on Tuesday, June 30, 2026.

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In the post, he said his law firm filed the suit on behalf of Democracy Hub.

“Merton & Everett LLP has on behalf of Democracy Hub filed a case against the Republic of Ghana at ECOWAS,” he posted.

MAG/MA

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