Eleven West African Nationals who had brought an action against the government of Ghana have been returned to their home countries; lawyers have told an Accra High Court.
The eleven nationals, four Nigerians, three Togolese, two Malians, one Gambian and one Liberian, were requesting the enforcement of their human rights on the basis that they were being kept in Ghana against their will.
They also sought an injunction against their repatriation and another order to compel the government to produce them before the court.
When the case was called on Tuesday, September 23, trial judge Priscilla Ofori ordered the counsel to serve notice on the Attorney General, Chief of Defense Staff and Comptroller because of national and international interest in the case.
I have perused the requisite order, and considering that the case has national and international interest, I am of the opinion that it will be in the interest of justice that the two motions moved ex parte be brought on notice to the respondent for determination.
However, lead counsel for the deportees, Oliver Barker Vormawor told the court that the action would not be required since their applications had been rendered moot.
He disclosed to the court that the eleven ECOWAS nationals were deported over the weekend, and therefore prayed for leave of the court to withdraw the two motions he had filed.
We had two applications before the court, one for a writ of habeas corpus and the other for an interim injunction inhibiting the return of the applicants in the substantive human rights case. Both applications were urgent due to the threat of the removal of the individuals involved from the jurisdiction.".
"Unfortunately, when we appeared before the court on Thursday, last week, the court postponed the matter to this morning and denied our application to order stop removal in the interim. We now have to inform the court that all the persons whose human rights we were seeking to enforce were deported over the weekend, and our applications have therefore become redundant. This is the same harm we were trying to prevent," Barker Vormawor said.
He, however, urged the court to be more firm so as not to inflict further hurt and injustice on other deportees who would come before the court because the government has signed an agreement with the US government to bring in more of such nationals.
"As the court has observed the national and international concern in these matters, several more refugee applicants are to be brought in pursuant to an agreement between the government and the US authorities and if applications of such urgency are not treated with the sensitivity required, our courts will be thwarted in doing justice."
After expressing displeasure over the deportation of the applicants, the High Court struck out the suit as withdrawn.
"The court is, nevertheless, displeased with the news of the deportation of the persons on whose behalf the instant applications are pending before the court and as counsel for the applicant pray to withdraw the applications pending before the court, namely the two motions exparte and the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction which was filed on Friday, September 19.".
"In consideration of the prayer made by the counsel on behalf of the applicant to withdraw the suit is hereby struck out as withdrawn."
source: 3NEWS.COM