Key points
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Eleven West African migrants sue Ghana for unlawful detention.
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They demand a court order to review their custody.
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Lawyers say the case raises key human rights concerns.
Eleven West African nationals from Nigeria, Liberia, Togo, The Gambia, and Mali have filed a lawsuit at the Human Rights Division of the High Court in Accra. They accuse the Ghanaian government of unlawfully detaining them after they were transferred from the United States earlier this month.
The group said they had been granted protection by U.S. immigration courts but were secretly removed from detention centers between September 5 and 6.
They allege they were shackled, flown to Ghana without explanation, and handed over to local authorities. Since then, they claim they have been held in a suspected military facility without access to due process.
Legal challenge under Ghana’s constitution
The migrants, represented by lawyer Oliver Barker-Vormawor, are asking the court to issue a writ of Habeas Corpus Ad Subjiciendum. This order would require the government to present them before a judge and justify their detention.
They argue that their detention violates Article 14(1) of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution, which guarantees personal liberty and protection from arbitrary arrest. They also say their rights to administrative justice and due process have been ignored.
At least eight of the applicants previously received U.S. court rulings granting them protection under the Convention Against Torture. That decision prohibited their return to their home countries because of risks of torture or persecution.
Case to be heard this week
The High Court will hear the ex-parte application on Thursday, September 19. The migrants’ lawyers are urging the court to enforce their constitutional rights and provide urgent protection.
They insist the government must respect both Ghana’s Constitution and international human rights laws. The case could test how Ghana balances state security concerns with its legal obligations to protect vulnerable migrants.
