Lome, Togo | File photo: Alberto Vicente Mayo
A Nigerian man, who was among West African migrants deported from the United States to Ghana, says he has been left stranded in a hotel in Togo.
In a Wednesday report, the man, who craved anonymity, said Ghanaian authorities secretly transferred him and five others to Togo after assuring them that they were being moved to a better accommodation.
The US government had deported the Nigerian — alongside 10 other West African nationals — as part of its crackdown on immigration.
Ghana had accepted the migrants, but later transferred them to Togo in a second round of deportations.
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This was despite an ongoing litigation after the migrants had filed a complaint alleging unlawful detention.
Where they were held in Ghana was unknown but the Nigerian told the BBC that the conditions were “deplorable”.
“We’re struggling to survive in Togo without any documentation,” he said.
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“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.”
The Nigerian also said he has family in the US.
“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 added.
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He said he was a member of the Yoruba self-determination movement, an activist organisation advocating for a breakaway state of the Yoruba ethnic group.
Because of his affiliation with the group, the man said he fears that returning to Nigeria could lead to his arrest and torture.
He added that he was under a US court-ordered protection that should have shielded him from deportation.
TheCable has contacted Samuel Ablakwa, Ghana’s foreign minister, for comments.
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