Immigration Officials at the Hamile border in the Upper West Region have rounded up 32 Nigeriens who were returning to their home country using an unapproved route to Burkina Faso.
Initial investigations by the Ghana Immigration Service revealed that the migrants aged between 17 and 74, who have been living in Ghana for some time now, had planned to sneak into Burkina Faso and then proceed to Niger for farming activities.
“At about 0530HRS, the vigilant Immigration Officials on duty at Beat Two, a known unapproved route bordering neighbouring Burkina Faso in the Hamile Sector Command, nabbed thirty-two Nigeriens whose modus operandi was to journey into Burkina Faso through unapproved route and possibly proceed to their home country, Niger. Preliminary investigations revealed that they have been residing in Ghana for some time now, but now wished to return home for farming activities.”
Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Immigration Service in the region, Ibn Yussif Duranah, in a statement said the Nigeriens have been screened by port health officials and sent back to Kumasi where they resided before embarking on the trip.
“The busted ECOWAS nationals comprised of thirty-one males and a female. Their ages ranged between 17 and 74. They were screened by the health personnel before being sent back to Kumasi and its environs on-board Grandbird Tour Bus with registration number GT 4356-16. Their return trip is keenly monitored,” the statement added.
Closure of the country’s borders
The country’s borders were shut as part of measures put in place to check the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in Ghana.
On May 31, 2020, President Akufo-Addo extended the closure of Ghana’s borders (land, air, and sea) to human traffic until further notice.
The President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in his 10th televised address to the state said the country’s borders were to remain shut even though measures have been put in place to bring Ghanaians stranded abroad back into the country.
Despite the closure of the borders, there have been attempts by some persons to either enter the country or exit using unapproved route.
In most of the cases, they have been arrested by Immigration officials.