By John Ogunsemore
A Nigerian surreptitiously taken to Togo and abandoned by Ghanaian officials after being deported to Ghana from the United States has raised the alarm.
BBC reports that the Nigerian deportee, who craved anonymity, said the Ghanaian officials smuggled him and five other deportees into Togo by allegedly bribing local police but without informing the Togolese government.
He said the Ghanaian officials had told them they were being moved from a military camp to better accommodation.
“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.
According to him, four of the deportees, including three Nigerians and a Liberian, have put up a hotel in Lomé, the Togolese capital without documents and are being assisted by relatives back home through kind-hearted hotel staff.
“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,’’ he said.
He narrated how his removal from the United States has impacted his family.
“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,’’ he stated.
He said being a member of the Yoruba Self-Determination Movement advocating a breakaway state, his return to Nigeria could put him in danger.
He further claimed that being a member of the self-determination group, he enjoyed a US court-ordered protection that should have prevented his deportation, though the US government has not explained its decision.
The deportee is part of a group of West Africa nationals in US detention facilities accepted by Ghana in September.
Ghanaian officials had said the nation accepted the deportees out of “pan-African empathy”, although opposition MPs have continued to frown at the arrangement citing lack of legislative approval.
Lawyers for the group have filed legal action against both the US and Ghana, alleging violations of their rights.
