Deported Nigerians Drag U.S. To Court Over “Inhuman” Treatment, Claim Secret Extradition Dump in Ghana

A storm of legal and diplomatic controversy is brewing as three Nigerians, recently deported from the United States and allegedly dumped in Ghana, have sued the American government over what they describe as cruel and unlawful treatment during their forced removal.

The plaintiffs, identified only by their initials D.A., T.L., I.O., D.S., and K.S., alongside two Gambians, filed a lawsuit at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Friday. They alleged that U.S. immigration authorities subjected them to degrading conditions during a grueling 16-hour military cargo flight, where they were shackled like criminals and given nothing but bread and water for sustenance.

According to court documents, the deportees were roused in the dead of night on September 5 at a detention facility in Alexandria, Louisiana. Without prior notice or explanation, they were transported onto a U.S. military aircraft. Only hours into the flight did they realize they were being taken not to their home countries, but to Ghana.

The case, filed by Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC), names as defendants the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, the Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Attorney General, and the Secretary of State.

The plaintiffs argue that their deportation was not only illegal but also a deliberate attempt to sidestep protection orders granted to them by U.S. immigration judges. Their lawyers insisted that the U.S. government engaged Ghana as a proxy to carry out deportations forbidden under American immigration law and the Convention Against Torture.

> “Defendants know they may not, consistent with U.S. immigration law, deport non-citizens to countries from which they have been granted fear-based protection,” the attorneys argued. “As an end-run around this prohibition, Defendants have enlisted the government of Ghana to do their dirty work.”

The plaintiffs are urging U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to order their immediate return to the United States, arguing that their rights under both American and international law were flagrantly violated.

The lawsuit also shines a spotlight on Ghana’s controversial cooperation with Washington. President John Dramani Mahama recently confirmed that his country had struck a deal with the U.S. to receive 14 deportees temporarily, before facilitating their onward repatriation to their respective countries of origin.

The case comes amid former U.S. President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration stance, under which thousands of Africans and other immigrants were branded as “illegal aliens” and targeted for mass deportation sweeps.

The unfolding legal battle now threatens to spark a wider diplomatic row between Nigeria, Ghana, and the United States—raising fresh questions about the boundaries of immigration law, human rights, and international cooperation.