UPDATE: Ghanaian government denies allegations of maltreatment of Nigerian citizens

Ghanaian Government, on Sunday, denied accusations by the Nigerian government that its citizens were being maltreated in Ghana.

According to Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, in a six-page response to the allegations, Ghanaian government denied several allegations by Nigeria and provided detailed explanations showing it was incorrect to suggest Nigerians were being targeted for maltreatment in Ghana.

Ghana Information minister said the country remains committed to the maintenance of warm relations with all sister nations, particularly, for well-known historical reasons, with Nigeria, and would proceed to engage Nigerian government with a view to resolving comprehensively and exhaustively any matters that have the potential to sour relations between the two countries.

“Ghana finds it imperative, however, from the onset, to state, for the public record, that the outline of issues by the Nigerian Federal Minister is not reflective of the developments in Ghana. Any protests, decisions or actions based on these reports will, thus, be unjustified.” The statement added.

The Information Minister used the opportunity as a first step, to provide a more reflective account of events while urging both countries to pursue substantive diplomatic engagements to have their issues resolved.

The statement by the Government of Ghana also assured that President Akufo-Addo, who currently has very excellent relations with his Nigerian counterpart will engage President Mohammadu Buhari with a view to immediately developing a framework for validating claims of ill-treatment of citizens of either country and ensure citizens enjoy the full exercise of their rights while respecting the sovereignty and laws of both countries

It will be recalled that the Federal Government, on Friday, issued a statement authorised by the Minister of Information and Culture, Honourable Lai Mohammed, concerning the current situations between the two countries.

Also, even though the main reason given for the seizure of Federal Government property at No. 10 Barnes Road in Accra was non-renewal of Lease after expiration, the Ghanaian authority did not give Nigeria the right of first refusal or the notice to renew the Lease. By contrast, the lease on some of the properties occupied by the Ghanaian Mission in Nigeria has long expired, yet such properties have not been seized.

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Responding, however, the Ghanaian government said: “it does not, did not and never owned the land, and has not been involved in the seizure of any property of the Nigerian High Commission in Ghana. The land in question is owned by the Osu Stool and managed by the Lands Commission.”

In response to the claim that the lease on some of the properties owned by the Ghana Mission in Nigeria has long expired, the Ghanaian Government said it acquired a freehold land at Pope John Paul II Street in Abuja in 1989 through a commercial arrangement and built the current structures on it.

The staff of the Ghana High Commission in Abuja, according to the government, have been living there since the construction of the current structures.