West Africans deported by US to Ghana dumped in Togo without papers

West Africans deported by the United States to Ghana are now fending for themselves in Togo after being dumped in the country without documents, lawyers and deportees have told AFP.

- 

The latest chapter in US President Donald Trump’s vast, opaque deportation programme, their saga became public in September when Ghanaian leader John Mahama disclosed that his country had struck a deal to accept deportees from the region.

Eight to 10 west African nationals have since been forcibly sent by Ghana to Togo, bypassing a formal border crossing and left on the street without passports.

“The situation is terrible,” said Benjamin, a Nigerian national, who told AFP over the weekend he was staying in a hotel room with three other deportees and only one bed, living off money sent from their families in the United States.

Benjamin said an immigration judge had ruled in June that he couldn’t be deported to Nigeria, citing risks to his life because of his past involvement in politics.

He had expected to be released to his wife and children, who are US citizens.