A BBC Africa Eye investigator, Kwakye Afreh-Nuamah, has revealed that concerns raised by sources about the operations of the International Justice Mission (IJM) Ghana instigated its recent investigation, which found that the organization supported raids that wrongfully removed children from their families in the country.
The BBC Africa Eye investigative report, published on Monday, July 10, 2023, alleged that some Ghanaian children were forcefully taken from their homes in an operation backed by one of the world’s leading anti-slavery organizations, IJM.
The report also said that IJM had removed some children from their families in cases where there was scarce to no evidence of trafficking and that this aggressive approach may have been fuelled by a target-driven culture inside IJM.
“We found two documented cases of rescue operations in which children were forcibly, traumatically, and unjustly removed, and the children’s relatives were prosecuted as child traffickers,” the report said.
Speaking in an interview on Eyewitness News on Citi FM in Accra on Wednesday, Mr. Afreh-Nuamah said that the team’s sources drew their attention to the activities and operations of the organization, after which the investigation began.
“Sources close to the operations and activities of IJM in Ghana drew the attention of the BBC Africa Eye team to situations they describe as worrying so far as the operations of IJM are concerned,” he stated.
However, IJM, in a press statement dated July 11, 2023, said that its own investigation into BBC’s claims found “material inaccuracies.”
“The BBC’s allegations are incredibly concerning. Protecting children’s welfare is at the core of IJM’s work in Ghana, and we’re always looking to evaluate any ways to improve policies and practices. We conducted a detailed internal investigation into the BBC’s claims. We will take on board any refinements to our processes, but – crucially – the findings revealed material inaccuracies in the BBC’s allegations.”