Nigerian Travellers Accuse Ghana Police Of Arresting Them Despite COVID-19 Results Showing Negative

According to a report by SaharaReporters, an exclusive video has showed several Nigerians lamenting how they were moved from the Kotoka International Airport in a convoy to an isolation centre in East Legon, a suburb of Accra, the Ghanaian capital.

The aggrieved Nigerian travellers identified the hotel as M Plaza Hotel where they accused the Ghanaian authorities of harassment, while insisting they tested positive for the Coronavirus in Accra after paying the N80,000 for a test in Lagos that proved they were negative.

According to the MyNigeria.com, an Engineer, Ezekiel Kachi, who is one of the isolated travellers, said the process of testing was not convincing because they were not given a properly documented test result.

He explained further that the Ghanaian authorities lodged them in a hotel they could barely afford.

He said the daily 530 Ghana cedis equivalent to N52,000 naira was beyond their budget adding that the authorities failed to offer them with the option of a cheaper hotel knowing fully well the occupants will bear the cost.

"I'm Engineer Ezeh Kachi, from Nigeria, Igbo to be precise. I and my wife came here on the 25th of this month, which was on Wednesday for my honeymoon.

"Unfortunately, the Covid test the Ghanaians ran on me and my wife at the airport declared me positive and my wife negative. And I can't understand because I ran a test in Nigeria and we were declared Covid negative, and that was why we embarked on the journey," he explained.

In a WhatsApp voice note to MyNigeria.com, Kachi confirmed that he was released on Saturday, August 28, 2021, after his wife paid the hotel bill of one thousand seven hundred and twelve Ghana cedis (1,712GHS) for his three-night stay at M Plaza.

Meanwhile, another Nigerian man identified as Omoefe Ramsey has alleged that men of the Ghanaian Police Service have threatened to arrest him and his other colleagues after an altercation with a doctor at the center.

He said the policemen were invited following the doctor's call based on a misunderstanding because they had questioned the approach of the medical team at the isolation center.

"The doctor threatened to arrest me and my friends because we were having a misunderstanding with him regarding his manner of approach. The police were here this morning, they said they will be taking us to the police station tomorrow after we have settled the hotel bills,” he said.

However, a high-ranking source within the Nigeria High Commission in Ghana said the mission is doing its best to secure the release of Nigerian citizens who have “been held against their will” in the isolation centre in Accra.

The top source who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the mission is “already working with the authorities” to ensure the issue is settled.

Personnel of the Ghana Police Service have carried out an initial threat to arrest three Nigerian travellers who had a verbal altercation with doctors at an isolation centre in Ghana's capital, Accra.

According to Omoefe Ramsey, one of the arrested persons, they were picked up Tuesday morning after paying the exorbitant isolation bill.

He said they are currently behind the counter in a police station at Kotobabi.

"We are at the police station right now. We paid for the hotel bill and they brought the police to come and arrest three of us," he told MyNigeria.com correspondent in Ghana in a phone call.