180 Ghanaians repatriated from Libya with IOM and ECOWAS help, Foreign Affairs Ministry says

Pinned summary · as of 06:22

A group of 180 Ghanaians who had been in Libya reached home on Thursday, 24 September, after the government arranged their trip with ECOWAS, the regional bloc, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The Ministry of Foreign Affairs disclosed the arrival in a Facebook post the next day.

What we know

• Ghana's government, with the IOM and ECOWAS, organised the return of 180 citizens from Libya, according to reports by Onua Online, Nkonkonsa and Opemsuo 104.7.
• The Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a Facebook post on Friday, 25 September that the returnees arrived on Thursday, 24 September 2026.
• By the ministry's breakdown, 153 of the returnees were men or boys and 27 were women or girls, and the group included children and infants.
• Mohammed Lawan Gana, who represents ECOWAS in Ghana as its resident representative, greeted the group at arrival, together with Foreign Affairs Ministry officials and staff of NADMO, the disaster management agency.
• Mr Gana told the returnees that getting home safely was a significant step in rebuilding their lives, and encouraged them to treat the return as a fresh beginning rather than a setback.
• He also pointed them towards skills training, entrepreneurship and other livelihood schemes as routes back into their communities.
• The operation forms part of a continuing arrangement between Ghana, the IOM and ECOWAS for the voluntary return and resettlement of Ghanaians in vulnerable circumstances abroad, and the returnees are expected to be given suitable assistance as they resettle.

What's disputed / unconfirmed

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  Onua Online added that the effort is also meant to encourage orderly, safe and regular migration, and that relevant authorities and partners will keep supporting the returnees' wellbeing; no other report carried these points, so they remain unconfirmed.

Why it matters for Ghana

Ghanaians who travel to Libya in search of work or a route onward can end up stranded, and each organised return gives families back home news that their relatives are safe. What the returnees do next depends on the training and livelihood support they are offered in their home communities. The presence of NADMO and the Foreign Affairs Ministry at the reception shows that state agencies are involved in the resettlement effort.