The Government of Ghana, in collaboration with the Embassy of Niger has repatriated 1,320 Nigeriens to their country.
The Ministry of Gender and Social Protection disclosed this in a statement.
It said the repatriation forms part of the government’s efforts at “getting beggars off the street.”
The first batch of 515 Nigeriens was repatriated on Tuesday, 7th June 2022, and the rest, on Wednesday, 8th June 2022.
There were 300 men, 400 women, and 620 children.
The exercise started on 5th June 2022 after officials in the Consulate of Niger in Ghana mobilised human and financial resources and other logistics to repatriate its nationals.
“In the course of the repatriation exercise, there was smooth transit from the terminal of Achimota, the Hajj village at Kotoka International Airport, and the emplaning of the returnees without any incident through the collaboration of stakeholders,” the statement said.
It said the returnees were found “under bridges, traffic lights intersections, street pavements, and other places begging for alms or loitering on the streets of Accra.”
The Ministry has asked the general public to assist the government’s efforts at “reducing child begging and streetism.”
There have been similar repatriations in the past.
In 2021, a total of 202 African nationals arrested for unlawful entry into Ghana through unapproved routes along the Ghana-Togo border were processed by the Aflao Sector Command of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) for repatriation.
