A Nigerian man deported from the United States to Ghana has claimed he was left stranded in Togo after Ghanaian authorities secretly moved him and five others across the border.
According to a BBC report on Wednesday, the man, who spoke anonymously, said they were initially told they were being relocated from a Ghanaian military camp to improved accommodations. Instead, he alleges they were “abandoned” in Togo.
“Life there was really difficult. We requested better conditions, including improved healthcare, medication, and access to clean water, as the situation in the military camp was harsh and deplorable,” he told the BBC.
He added that when officials returned days later, allegedly to transfer them to a hotel, they were instead taken across the border to Togo.
“When we arrived, we asked why we were at the border. They said we needed to sign some paperwork for hotel transfer, but we didn’t sign anything,” he said.
The deportee further alleged that the group was escorted into Togo through an unofficial route, bypassing Togolese authorities, and that local police were bribed to facilitate the move.
“They did not take us through the main border; we were taken through a back route. The police were paid, and we were simply dropped in Togo,” he explained.
He said the group consists of four Nigerians and one Liberian, who are now staying in a hotel in Lomé, the Togolese capital near the border.
“I have a home in the US where my children live. I don’t know how they will manage my mortgage or cope without me. My kids cannot see me, and it has been extremely stressful,” he lamented, highlighting the personal consequences of his deportation.
