The United Kingdom has deported some Ghanaians and Nigerians to their home countries on one flight.
The deportees who left the UK on Friday, October 18, 2024, according to a report by theguardian.com, sighted by GhanaWeb, included some 44 who were forcibly removed as confirmed by the UK Home Office. "The news came as it emerged that any asylum seekers who arrive in Diego Garcia before a treaty between the UK and Mauritius to hand back the Chagos Islands are finalised will be sent to Saint Helena, a British territory in the Atlantic Ocean described as one of the most remote places on Earth," parts of the report said.
Also, the report described the number of asylum seekers arriving in Diego Garcia since 2021 in the hundreds, not comparable to the tens of thousands crossing the Channel in small boats from northern France to the UK in recent years.
The Guardian added that the Home Office said the Nigeria and Ghana deportations were part of a "major surge" in immigration enforcement and returns.