Lawyers Drag Ghana To ECOWAS Court For Accepting US Deportees In Controversial Policy

June 30, 2026

The lawsuit was filed by Ghanaian law firm Merton & Everett LLP, the Cornell Law School Transnational Disputes Clinic in the United States, and the Global Strategic Litigation Council, a coalition of non-governmental organisations.

Some lawyers have instituted a suit against Ghana before the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice, accusing the West African country of violating regional and domestic laws by accepting deportees from the United States under Washington's third-country deportation policy and facilitating their return to countries where they allegedly face persecution.

The legal action, filed on Monday at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice in Abuja, represents 27 deportees who were among at least 60 people sent to Ghana by the United States since September under President Donald Trump's expanded immigration enforcement programme.

According to the legal team, many of those deported had previously secured asylum or other legal protections in the United States but were nevertheless transferred to Ghana after U.S. authorities argued they could not be returned directly to their countries of origin.

The lawsuit was filed by Ghanaian law firm Merton & Everett LLP, the Cornell Law School Transnational Disputes Clinic in the United States, and the Global Strategic Litigation Council, a coalition of non-governmental organisations.

Explaining the basis of the case, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, senior partner at Merton & Everett LLP, said: "No person should be returned to a place where they face persecution, torture, or serious threats to their dignity and safety."

The legal coalition alleges that Ghana is violating domestic and regional law by "facilitating removals to unsafe countries", arguing that the country's cooperation with the U.S. deportation arrangement has exposed vulnerable migrants to renewed danger.

The ECOWAS Community Court of Justice serves as the highest judicial body of the Economic Community of West African States, the regional bloc comprising 12 member countries.

Under the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, the United States has broadened the categories of people targeted for deportation, including individuals who previously enjoyed legal protections.

In situations where U.S. courts have ruled that deportees are likely to face torture or persecution if returned directly to their home countries, Washington has instead transferred them to third countries such as Ghana.

According to AFP, Ghana subsequently repatriated some deportees to their countries of origin, while others were reportedly taken into neighbouring Togo without travel documents.

The legal team said Ghana has disclosed little about the terms of its arrangement with Washington beyond indicating that it would only receive West African deportees.

However, shortly after the agreement took effect, the United States lifted visa restrictions it had earlier imposed on Ghana.

The lawsuit further states that the deportees represented in the case "had sought, and the majority had obtained asylum or other legal protections in the United States."

Under the Trump administration's interpretation of U.S. law, authorities maintain that legal protections only prevent deportees from being sent directly to countries where they face danger, allowing transfers to third countries instead.

The lawyers said none of the 27 applicants remains in Ghana.

Describing their current situation, the legal coalition said: "Many now remain in hiding in their home countries or have fled to third countries where they wait in limbo."

The case comes weeks after another legal challenge was filed before the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights seeking to halt U.S. deportations to Equatorial Guinea, another country that has served as a transit destination for African deportees under the policy.