Nigeria Denies Receiving Official Notice on US Deportees to Ghana

The Federal Government says it has not received any official notification on the reported deportation of Nigerians from the United States to Ghana.

The clarification came after reports that Ghana had agreed to accept West Africans deported under a U.S. arrangement. Ghanaian President John Mahama said on Wednesday that 14 deportees, including Nigerians and a Gambian, had arrived in Accra and that authorities would help facilitate their return to their home countries.

The report did not specify how many Nigerians were among the deportees. Responding to enquiries, Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Kimiebi Ebienfa said on Thursday, “We have yet to be informed officially.”

President Mahama defended Ghana’s decision, noting that citizens of West African states do not require visas to enter Ghana. “We were approached by the US to accept third-party nationals who were being removed from the US, and we agreed,” he said.

Nigeria has previously rejected similar requests from Washington, strongly opposing the so-called “third-country deportation” policy. In July, Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar disclosed that the Trump administration had pressured African nations to accept deported migrants, including Venezuelans convicted of crimes, a move he described as “unacceptable.”

Several retired Nigerian diplomats have reacted to the latest development. Ambassador Rasheed Akinkuolie said Ghana acted within its sovereign rights. “The government of Ghana has the right to accept deportees from the USA. It is an internal affair,” he said.

Former envoy Ogbole Amedu-Ode suggested Ghana’s decision was logistical rather than based on bilateral agreement with Nigeria. “Ghana is accepting U.S. deportees of West African extraction. Recall that Nigeria had earlier rejected a U.S. request for Venezuelans,” he said.

Another retired diplomat, Ambassador Mohammed Mabdul, warned that while the move may ease U.S. pressure, it could strain Nigeria-Ghana relations if not carefully managed.

The development underscores rising diplomatic tensions over U.S. deportation policies and their broader impact on African nations, particularly within the ECOWAS sub-region.