Overview
- An international coalition filed a case at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice on June 30, 2026 on behalf of 27 people who were sent from the United States to Ghana and then removed onward.
- The complaint says Ghana received at least 60 U.S. deportees since September 2025 and then arranged rapid onward removals that returned many people to the countries they had fled.
- Plaintiffs allege violations of non‑refoulement and describe shackling during flights, detention under armed guard in camps and poor holding conditions in Ghana.
- The lawsuit asks the court to force Ghana to release the terms of its agreement with the U.S., stop future transfers, and pay at least $100,000 per deportee plus other reparations.
- The case follows a parallel challenge against Equatorial Guinea and could create binding West African precedent under a 1979 free‑movement treaty that may deter other third‑country pacts and reshape regional responses to U.S. deportation policy.