The first set of Nigerians marked for deportation from the United States under President Donald Trump’s administration has been returned home.
Ghana’s President, John Dramani Mahama, disclosed this to reporters late Wednesday.
“A group of 14 deportees including Nigerians and one Gambian have already arrived in Ghana, and the government facilitated their return to their home countries,” Mahama said at a press conference.
He explained that Ghana had already facilitated the return of the Nigerians to their country by bus, while the Gambians were still being assisted to return home.
“We were approached by the US to accept third-party nationals who were being removed from the US. And we agreed with them that West African nationals were acceptable,” Mahama said.
“All our fellow West African nationals don’t need visas to come to our country,” he added.
Mahama also described Ghana-US relations as a “tightening situation,” pointing to increased US tariffs on Ghanaian goods and visa restrictions on its nationals. He, however, maintained that relations remained largely positive.
The Trump administration has reportedly approached several African countries to accept deportees as part of its wider strategy to deter immigration.
So far, deportees have included citizens of countries such as Jamaica, Vietnam, and Laos, with rights groups criticizing the moves as violations of basic human rights.
Some African nations have resisted the deportation policy. Nigeria, for instance, has previously declared it would not bow to pressure to accept third-country migrants from the US.
The United States has already carried out similar deportations to other African nations. In July, five individuals were deported to Eswatini and eight others to South Sudan. In August, Rwanda received seven migrants from the US after both countries signed an agreement for the transfer of up to 250 people.