The Federal Government has highlighted many atrocities perpetrated by Ghana against Nigerians living in the country and warned that it would not further tolerate further hostile actions.
The government said that 1,150 Nigerian outlets have been closed down in Ghana since 2018 with more than 200 Nigerians sentenced and suffering in Nsawam Maximum Prison in Ghana while no fewer 825 Nigerians had been unjustly deported from Ghana since 2018.
In a statement titled, ‘Nigeria will no longer tolerate harassment of its citizens in Ghana – FG,’ the Honourable Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said the government was seriously concerned about the constant harassment of Nigerians in Ghana and the persistent acts of hostility towards Nigeria by Ghanaian authorities.
This came after the imposition of a $1m trade levy on Nigerian traders in Ghana and the closing down of their business outlets by the Ghanaian authorities.
The Ministry of Trade of Ghana also gave the traders a 14-day deadline to pay the fee, failing which their shops would be closed. The payment deadline was August 24.
The Ghanaian authorities had ordered the shutting of shops owned by Nigerians operating in the country and in a bid for enforce the new law, a task force had been going across Accra to fish out shops owned by Nigerian traders and close them.
Mohammed said: “The Nigerian Government is deeply concerned by the incessant harassment of its citizens in Ghana and the progressive acts of hostility towards the country by Ghanaian authorities, and will no longer tolerate such.
“In this regard, the Federal Government is urgently considering a number of options aimed at ameliorating the situation. The Federal Government has been documenting the acts of hostility towards Nigeria and Nigerians by the Ghanaian authorities. These include seizure of the Nigerian Mission’s property located at No. 10, Barnes Road, Accra, which the Nigerian Government has used as diplomatic premises for almost 50 years. This action is a serious breach of the Vienna Convention.
“Demolition of the Nigerian Mission’s property located at No.19/21 Julius Nyerere Street, East Ridge, Accra, another serious breach of the Vienna Convention. Also, aggressive and incessant deportation of Nigerians from Ghana; between January 2018 and February 2019, 825 Nigerians were deported from Ghana.
“Also, closure of shops belonging to Nigerians; over 300 Nigerians shops were locked for four months in Kumasi in 2018; over 600 Nigerian shops were locked in 2019 and, currently, over 250 Nigerians’ shops have been locked.
“Furthermore, residency permit requirements, for which the Ghana Immigration Service has placed huge fees, which are far higher than the fees charged by the Nigerian Immigration Service. These include the compulsory non-citizen ID card (US$120, and US$60 for yearly renewal); medical examinations, including for COVID-19, which is newly-introduced (about US$120), and payment for residency permit (US$400 compared to the N7,000 being paid by Ghanaians for residency card in Nigeria).
“The Federal Government would like to put on record the fact that even though over one million Ghanaians are resident in Nigeria, they are not being subjected to the kind of hostility being meted out to Nigerians in Ghana.”
He added that “the negative reportage of issues concerning Nigerians resident in Ghana by the Ghanaian media is fueling an emerging xenophobic attitude towards Nigerian traders and Nigerians in general.
“The immediate fallout is the incessant harassment and arrest of Nigerian traders and closure of their shops. There is harsh and openly-biased judicial trial and pronouncement of indiscriminately-long jail terms for convicted Nigerians. There are currently over 200 Nigerians in the Nsawam Maximum prison in Ghana alone. Nigeria has, time after time, demonstrated its fidelity to the long cordial relations with Ghana. But indications, especially in recent times, are that Nigeria’s stance is now being taken for granted. This will no longer be tolerated under any guise.
“In the meantime, the Federal Government wishes to appeal to its citizens resident in Ghana to remain law-abiding and avoid engaging in self-help, despite their ordeal.”
