Twenty four Ghanaians were yesterday repatriated from Trinidad and Tobago after serving prison terms for between six months and two years for allegedly entering that country without permit.
Some officials of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) were at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) to offer some assistance to the returnees, who were between the ages of 25 and 34. The NADMO officials gave the returnees between GH˘15 AND GH˘20 back to their respective destinations.
The returnees travelled to Trinidad and Tobago hoping to connect to the United States of America (USA). But the authorities in Trinidad and Tobago reportedly arrested and detained the Ghanaians and other African nationals for illegally entering the country. The Ghanaians were deported alongside 28 Nigerians, who were connected to a flight bound for Lagos after arriving with the Ghanaians at the KIA.
Some of the returnees accused the prison officers in Trinidad and Tobago of refusing to give back to them their monies, which they (prison officers) took from them, when they were arrested.
One of the returnees, Mohammed Naziru, told the Daily Graphic that the prison officers took $1,300 from him when they arrested him some 10 months ago. “To my surprise, the prison officers refused to hand over the money to me when I was being repatriated, despite my appeal to them,” he lamented. Naziru said he went to Trinidad and Tobago to work and raise some income, possibly to connect to the USA.
He said he and his Ghanaian friends were engaged in a lawful employment and did not commit any crime to warrant their arrest by the authorities in Trinidad and Tobago. Therefore, he said, he was glad that he had been repatriated to Ghana, “since nobody wants to be in prison.”
“I am happy to be home although the situation back home is tough,” he said. Sources at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the Daily Graphic that the ministry followed up the case of the Ghanaians in detention in Trinidad and Tobago.
The sources said a report from the Trinidad and Tobago confirmed the existence of 21 Ghanaians detained for illegal immigration. The Ministry, therefore, charged the Ghana Ambassador to Cuba to take over the issue and facilitate the release of the people.
Naziru confirmed to the Daily Graphic that the acting ambassador of Ghana to Cuba visited the Ghanaians in prison in Trinidad and Tobago recently to discuss the repatriation of the people.
