Ghana has confirmed its determination to receive West African nationals deported from the United States, including Nigerians, under a new arrangement with Washington.
President John Dramani Mahama, speaking on Wednesday, revealed that the first batch of 14 deportees comprising Nigerians, a Gambian, others had already arrived in Accra, where Ghanaian authorities are facilitating their onward return to their home countries.
We were approached by the U.S. to accept third-party nationals who were being removed from the U.S., and we agreed with them that West African nationals were acceptable because all our fellow West Africans don’t need a visa to come to our country, Mahama explained.
Mahama defended the decision, noting that the policy aligns with ECOWAS free movement protocols, which allow West Africans to travel across member states without visas.
All our fellow West Africans don’t need a visa anyway to come to Ghana, he said.
The arrangement comes against the backdrop of an intensified deportation drive under U.S. President Donald Trump, whose administration has expanded the use of “third country” returns as part of its hardline immigration policy.
The move comes amid a broader strategy by President Donald Trump, who has previously overseen deportations to Eswatini, South Sudan, and Rwanda despite safety warnings from human rights groups.
Nigeria, however, has pushed back. In July, Minister of Foreign Affairs Yusuf Tuggar said Abuja would not accept deportees from other countries, citing “national security and economic concerns.”
Trump has been lobbying African leaders directly. On July 9, he hosted five West African presidents — from Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal — in Washington, with Reuters reporting that persuading them to accept deportees was a central objective of the talks.
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