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An Accra High Court has struck out a human rights case filed by eleven West African nationals against the Government of Ghana, after it emerged that the applicants had already been deported to their home countries.
The group—comprising four Nigerians, three Togolese, two Malians, one Gambian, and one Liberian—had sought to challenge what they described as unlawful detention in Ghana. They also filed an injunction to halt their repatriation and a habeas corpus application to compel the state to produce them before the court.
When the matter was called on Tuesday, September 23, presiding judge Justice Priscilla Ofori instructed that key state actors—including the Attorney General, Chief of Defence Staff, and Comptroller-General of Immigration—be formally notified, citing the case’s national and international implications.
However, lead counsel for the applicants, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, informed the court that both applications had become moot since the individuals had been deported over the weekend.
“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 said.
He also urged the judiciary to treat urgent human rights applications with greater sensitivity, warning that inaction may undermine justice—especially with more refugee seekers expected under an agreement between Ghana and the United States.
While expressing dissatisfaction over the deportation during the pendency of legal proceedings, Justice Ofori granted the request to withdraw the motions, and subsequently struck out the case.
