Eleven West Africans filed a human rights action against the government, but the Accra High Court dismissed it after learning that the applicants had already been sent back to their countries of origin.
In Ghana, the deportees had attempted to contest what they called illegal imprisonment. Four Nigerians, three Togolese, two Malians, one Gambian, and one Liberian make up the group.
In addition, the individuals filed a habeas corpus application for the state to bring them before the court and an injunction to stop their repatriation.
Citing the issue’s national and international ramifications, presiding judge Justice Priscilla Ofori ordered the Attorney General, the Chief of Defense Staff, and the Comptroller-General of Immigration to be placed on notice when the case was called on Tuesday, September 23.
However, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, the deportees’ primary attorney, told the court that since his clients were deported over the weekend, both applications were now moot. He clarified that when the court denied temporary relief to halt their transfer last week, the urgency of the situation was lost.
“We had before the court two applications-one for a writ of habeas corpus and the other for an interim injunction preventing repatriation. Unfortunately, the court adjourned the matter to this morning without granting interim relief. Over the weekend, the applicants were deported, and as such, our applications have become moot. This is precisely the injury we sought to prevent,” Barker-Vormawor told the court.
Additionally, he called on the judiciary to handle these urgent applications with more tact, cautioning that inaction could jeopardize justice in similar situations, especially because the government and the United States have an agreement that calls for additional asylum claimants to arrive in Ghana.
While voicing displeasure about the applicants’ deportation while the lawsuit was pending, Justice Ofori granted the petitions to be withdrawn and later struck out the claim.