ACCRA, Sept 16 (AGCNewsNet) – Ghana has sent 14 West African migrants deported from the United States to their home countries of Nigeria and Gambia on humanitarian grounds, though lawyers for some deportees disputed official claims that all had been successfully repatriated, according to government officials and legal representatives.

The group consisted of 13 Nigerians and one Gambian who were initially sent to Ghana as a third country before being transferred to their nations of origin, Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said at a press briefing in Accra on Monday.

"We should rather be seen as a country that wants to look out for its fellow Africans, that is why we made it clear to the Americans that we will not accept $1," Ablakwa said, according to local media reports, defending Ghana's decision to accept the deportees without financial compensation.

However, lawyers for four of the 14 deportees contradicted the government's statement, saying in a court filing that their clients remained in Ghana and had not been returned to their home countries, according to legal documents.

"We believe that the plaintiff's deportations to Ghana did not comply with principles of due process. These people were not told where they were going to be taken," said Samantha Hamilton, the attorney for the deported migrants, according to court records.

The confusion surrounding the case reflected concerns about the pace of immigration enforcement under the Trump administration, which lawyers said has come at the cost of immigrants' legal rights and sometimes put their safety at risk.

Nigeria's government said it was not briefed about its nationals being sent to Ghana and that previously it had received Nigerians deported directly from the US, according to diplomatic sources.

Ablakwa pushed back on criticism that Ghana's decision endorsed US President Donald Trump's migration policies, saying the West African nation accepted the third-country deportees "purely on humanitarian grounds," according to government statements.

The lawyers said their clients' situation remained precarious and argued some could face persecution or torture if returned to their home countries, according to court filings.

Gambian authorities did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the deportation.

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