Government under fire for its covert role in US deportation schemes, has dangled a partial olive branch to the Supreme Court by offering to release a single diplomatic note, a move insiders view as a pre-emptive strike to blunt accusations of executive overreach, even as whispers of financial incentives and human rights lapses continue to swirl around the NDC’s ties to the Trump administration.
The voluntary disclosure, announced last week by Deputy Attorney-General Justice Srem-Sai on behalf of AG Dr. Dominic Ayine, centres on a Foreign Affairs Ministry memo to the US Embassy in Accra, signalling Ghana’s openness to receiving West African nationals expelled from America.
Framed as a “good faith” gesture to illuminate the “Reception Case” a constitutional challenge by activist collective Democracy Hub Srem-Sai was quick to caveat its limits when posting the notice online: “This will help the Court decide whether the Government breached the Constitution… but it shall not constitute a precedent or waiver of any privileges.”
Served on Democracy Hub’s legal team, headed by the combative Oliver Barker-Vormawor, the filing comes amid escalating scrutiny of a shadowy pact that has seen dozens of migrants Gambians, Nigerians, and others offloaded onto Ghanaian soil since October 2025.
Detained in military barracks and potentially rerouted to neighbours like Togo without papers, these individuals, per the suit, embody a flagrant breach of due process and Article 75’s parliamentary ratification mandate for international deals.
The broader intrigue? Ghana’s seeming alignment with Washington’s migration crackdown under Trump 2.0, ostensibly as regional solidarity but reeking of quid pro quo. Eswatini’s blunt admission of a $5.1 million payout for similar acceptances has ignited speculation of hidden Ghanaian sweeteners aid packages, trade concessions, or security perks despite vehement denials from officials.
Critics, including civil society watchdogs, decry it as “secret diplomacy” that undermines sovereignty, especially as deportees face perils like refoulement to homophobic Gambia, where a bisexual man’s case highlights potential violations of refugee conventions.
Democracy Hub’s October filing demands an injunction on the pact’s enforcement and full revelation of the agreement, arguing it forges a discriminatory “two-tier” justice: Locals prosecuted for crimes, foreigners fast-tracked to expulsion, all without legislative oversight or civilian detention norms.
Barker-Vormawor, doubling as counsel for some deportees, told reporters: “The AG can’t even name it consistently memorandum one day, arrangement the next. We’re pushing precedents for disclosure to expose this fog.”
He voiced alarm at “persistent violations,” with deportations raging unchecked as the case drags into December: “People are treated below republican standards; justice delayed is justice denied.”
The Supreme Court bench Presiding Justice Gabriel Scott Pwamang, alongside Ernest Yao Gaewu, Richard Adjei-Frimpong, Senyo Dzamefe, and Hafisata Amaleboba rebuffed the AG’s bid to dismiss the suit as media-driven hearsay, labelling the pact’s existence a “notorious fact.”
Noting Democracy Hub could have sought documents via the Right to Information Act, the panel ordered one-week written briefs on disclosure viability, with a ruling slated for November 26.
Beneath the courtroom theatre lies a web of geopolitical calculus: The NDC’s embrace risks alienating ECOWAS partners while courting US favour amid economic pressures. Full exposure could unravel executive shortcuts and fuel opposition barbs; stonewalling might erode judicial trust.
For now, this token disclosure voluntary yet hedged buys breathing room, but the real test is whether it pierces the veil on Ghana’s role in America’s border wars, or merely perpetuates the shadows.