Lawyer tasks Tinubu to engage US on dignified return for Nigerian deportees
Award-winning International human rights lawyer Emmanuel Ogebe has revealed that the US government has dumped yet more Nigerians and other citizens in Africa during a surreptitious ICE Deportation flight last weekend.
In a bulletin circulated to the UN and relevant governments, Ogebe stated: “This is to provide an update that a U.S. deportation flight arrived Africa at the weekend, dumping detainees in multiple countries. It is believed to be the 4th deportation flight to Africa.
“The initial routing report is: Alvarado outside Dallas, TX USA; to Senegal to refuel; to Sierra Leone to drop a few; to Central African Republic – to drop 2 females (from Uzbek and Turkey) and 17 males (Russian, Cuban, possibly Central or South American, etc.); to Ghana to drop the remaining persons.
“30 hours in total – manacled and shackled. Some of those dropped in Ghana were Nigerian citizens. They suffered hardship in Ghana as well.”
Ogebe had earlier called on President Bola Tinubu to negotiate a bilateral agreement with the United States to guarantee the dignified repatriation of Nigerians facing deportation.
Ogebe made the call during an interview on Inside Sources, on the growing number of Nigerians in US immigration detention. He expressed concern that some citizens were being detained despite not committing criminal offences and, in some instances, deported to third countries.
“There’s something that’s happening which is not right. Nigerians are being arrested and detained in the U.S. who have not committed any crimes and they’re being deported to Ghana and other countries. I call on the Nigerian government to sign an agreement with the U.S. for a dignified transfer of Nigerians who want to self-repatriate instead of being detained,” he said.
He added that the Federal Government should work closely with Nigerians in the diaspora in addressing international issues affecting the country, noting that such collaboration would improve Nigeria’s human rights record and global reputation.
