Eleven West African Nationals who had filed a legal action against the Ghana government have been deported to their home countries; lawyers have told an Accra High Court.
The eleven nationals, comprising four Nigerians, three Togolese, two Malians, one Gambian and one Liberian, were seeking the enforcement of their human rights, arguing that they were being detained in Ghana against their will.
They also filed an injunction against their repatriation and another order compelling the government to produce them before the court.
When the case was called on Tuesday, September 23, presiding judge Priscilla Ofori ordered the lawyers to put the Attorney General, Chief of Defense Staff and Comptroller on notice, citing national and international interest in the case.
“I have perused the necessary order and considering the fact that the case is of national and international interest I am of the opinion that it would be in the interest of justice for the two motions brought ex parte to be brought on notice to the respondent for consideration.”
However, lead counsel for the deportees, Oliver Barker Vormawor indicated to the court that the action would not be necessary since their applications had become moot.
He disclosed to the court that the eleven ECOWAS nationals were deported over the weekend, and therefore sought leave of the court to withdraw the two motions he had filed.
“We had before the court two applications, one seeking a writ of habeas corpus and the second for an interim injunction preventing the repatriation of the applicants in the substantive human rights action. Both applications were of an urgent nature because of the risk of the removal of the persons concerned from the jurisdiction.
“Unfortunately, when we appeared on Thursday, last week, the court adjourned the matter to this morning and declined our prayer to grant an order to prevent removal in the interim. We have to inform the court that the persons whose human rights we were seeking to enforce were all deported over the weekend, and as such, our applications have become moot. This is precisely the injury we were trying to prevent,” Barker Vormawor noted.
He, however, urged the court to be more decisive in order not to render more injury and injustice to other deportees who would come to the court because the government has agreed with the US government to bring in more of such nationals.
“As the court has recognised the national and international interest in these matters, several more refugee seekers are to be brought in pursuant to an agreement between the government and the US authorities and if urgent applications of this nature are not treated with the sensitivity required, our courts will be disabled from doing justice.”
After expressing dissatisfaction with the deportation of the applicants, the High Court struck out the suit as withdrawn.
“The court is, however, not happy with the news of the deportation of the persons on whose behalf the instant applications are before the court and since counsel for the applicant pray to withdraw the applications before the court, that is the two motions exparte and the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction which was filed on Friday, September 19.
“In view of the prayer made by the counsel for the applicant to withdraw the suit is hereby struck out as withdrawn.”
Source:Lovinghananews.com
