The Supreme Court has ordered the Attorney-General to disclose documents relating to the controversial agreement between the government of Ghana and the United States on the deportation and temporary hosting of West African nationals.
The ruling, delivered on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, grants lawyers representing the pro-democracy group Democracy Hub permission to inspect the documents.
The order follows a long-running legal challenge filed by Democracy Hub, led by activist and lawyer Oliver Barker-Vormawor, questioning the constitutionality of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) entered into by Ghana in mid-2025.
The group argues that the agreement, which allows the US to deport West African migrants (including non-Ghanaians) to Ghana as a third country, required parliamentary ratification under Article 75 of the 1992 Constitution but was implemented without it.
Barker-Vormawor, a member of Democracy Hub’s legal team, confirmed the development shortly after leaving the courtroom. In a post on Facebook
“I just left the Supreme Court. Good win. The Court has just ordered the Attorney-General to disclose documents relating to the Agreement entered into between Ghana and the US Government to deport West African Nationals to Ghana. Democracy Hub lawyers to be allowed to inspect documents,” he stated.
The agreement, announced by President John Dramani Mahama in September 2025, was presented as a humanitarian gesture aligned with Pan-African ideals and ECOWAS free movement protocols. Ghana agreed to accept West African deportees from the US temporarily, with plans to repatriate them to their countries of origin (such as Nigeria, Gambia, and others) within the 90-day visa-free period allowed under regional rules. No financial exchange was involved, according to government statements, and it was tied to securing the reversal of US visa restrictions on Ghanaians.
However, the deal has faced intense criticism. Reports indicate that dozens of deportees arrived in Ghana starting September 2025. Lawyers, including Barker-Vormawor, have alleged that many were quickly forwarded to their home countries or neighboring states like Togo, sometimes without proper documentation or in violation of US court-ordered protections against refoulement (return to places of potential persecution or torture).
Democracy Hub’s Supreme Court petition, filed in October 2025, seeks to declare the agreement null and void for lacking parliamentary approval and potentially breaching human rights obligations.