A Nigerian father deported from the United States has told the BBC he is stranded in Lomé, the capital of Togo, after Ghanaian authorities secretly transferred him and five others across the border.
The man, who requested anonymity, said he was among 11 West African nationals deported from the US in August as part of an immigration removal exercise. They included citizens of Nigeria, Liberia, The Gambia, and Togo.
According to him, the group was flown to Accra, Ghana, on a US military aircraft after being held in detention facilities in the United States. In Ghana, he said, they were kept at a military camp where conditions were “deplorable,” with poor access to food, water, and healthcare.
After repeated complaints, six of the deportees were told they would be moved to a hotel. Instead, he alleged, Ghanaian officers drove them through an unofficial crossing into Togo. “They did not take us through the main border. They paid the police there and dropped us in Togo,” he told the BBC.
Four of the group; three Nigerians and one Liberian managed to check into a hotel in Lomé, where they are still staying. Without passports or official documents, they said they rely on relatives abroad to send money through hotel staff to cover bills.
“We are struggling to survive in Togo without any documentation,” the Nigerian said. “None of us has family here. We’re just stuck in a hotel.”
The 42-year-old added that he has children in the United States and is worried about supporting them. “I have a house in the US where my kids live. How am I supposed to pay the mortgage? My kids can’t see me, and it’s stressful,” he said.
The man admitted that he was convicted in 2020 of conspiracy to commit bank fraud in the United States and served a two-year sentence. He maintained, however, that he was under court-ordered protection that should have prevented his deportation.
He also said he is a member of the Yoruba Self-Determination Movement, which campaigns for a separate Yoruba state in southwest Nigeria. He fears arrest if returned to Nigeria, where security agencies have detained activists linked to the group.
The United States Department of Homeland Security has described the deportees as “illegal aliens” who had received due process. A spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin, said many of them had criminal convictions, including robbery and aggravated assault.
In Ghana, the decision to accept the deportees has caused political controversy. President John Mahama said last month that Ghana would not become a “dumping ground” for criminals, although he had agreed to take in West African deportees from the US citing regional solidarity.
Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa confirmed Ghana had received the deportees but said no financial reward was involved. Opposition MPs have called for the agreement with the US to be suspended until parliament approves it.
The Togolese government has not commented on the presence of the deportees in Lomé.
Lawyers representing the group have begun legal action against both the US and Ghanaian governments, arguing their rights were violated during the deportation process.
