US-deported immigrants in Ghana lack legal standing to sue government - Lawyer

Private legal practitioner Kofi Bekai has stated that the group of 14 African immigrants recently deported from the US to Ghana lacks the legal standing to sue the Government of Ghana.

The statement follows a lawsuit filed by some of the deportees, who allege that their continued detention in Ghana violates their human rights.

This claim contradicts the Ghanaian government’s assertion that the individuals were repatriated to their home countries.

According to Ghana’s Minister for Government Communications and Presidential Spokesperson, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, a Gambian national among the group was already sent back to The Gambia, while the remaining 13, all Nigerians, were transported to Nigeria by bus.

However, lawyers representing four of the Nigerian immigrants have disputed the official’s claim.

In court filings and in interviews with the Associated Press (AP), the lawyers asserted that their clients were still being held at a facility in Ghana.

Commenting on the matter, Bekai explained that because the deportees were accepted into Ghana as refugees on humanitarian grounds, they do not have the legal basis to bring a lawsuit against the government.

He advised the government to consider rescinding its agreement with the U.S. and to send the deportees back.

Speaking on Nyankonton Mu Nsem on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM, he said, “The deportees have no legal standing or status to sue. They are refugees, not citizens, and lack any legal document that recognizes them as having the authority to sue.

"The government can rescind the decision and send them back. The government has provided you a place to stay, and you are claiming you want to sue.”

Bekai suggested that another option for the deportees would be to officially write to the US Ambassador in Ghana about their situation and request to be sent to another country.

He also noted that, based on their status as refugees, they could petition the UN Refugee Agency and copy the US government to show the reasons for their deportation.

The lawyer further questioned the Ghana government’s decision to accept the deportees, describing the move as unfortunate.

He rejected the government’s justification that its agreement to accept deported African immigrants did not require parliamentary ratification.

According to him, the deal was conducted in secret, without the knowledge of the Ghanaian public.

He added that the government is now offering various “unjustifiable reasons” for its actions, only after the issue became public.

Bekai argued that such an arrangement should not have been handled in this manner, stressing that if challenges arise after the deportees arrive in Ghana, there should be a clear solution.