Thirty-six African nationals, previously protected from deportation in the United States, have filed a legal challenge in Yaoundé after being expelled to Cameroon earlier this year. Their legal representative, Joseph Fru Awah, announced the lawsuit aimed at suspending the bilateral migration agreement with Washington and securing legal protection within Cameroon.

Filed with the Yaoundé administrative court, the complaint seeks to halt the deportation agreement that sent these individuals to Cameroon between January and May 2026. Their primary objective is to prevent any further expulsion to their countries of origin, where they could face persecution or torture.

‘Cameroon cannot be used as a transit hub to return people to danger,’ stated Fru Awah in a formal statement. The legal team argues that the migrants now face an uncertain status in Cameroon, with restricted movement and no clear legal documentation.

Financial incentives and diplomatic pressure

Originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Angola, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Senegal, Zimbabwe, and Morocco, these individuals had previously received protection from US courts. Their expulsion to Cameroon places them in a precarious situation, as they remain without legal status and under supervision by Cameroonian authorities in coordination with the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

According to their legal team, the migrants are currently detained in a Yaoundé facility where they lack proper identification documents and face mobility restrictions. The lawsuit demands that Cameroon grant them legal residency status to prevent further deportation.

International agreements under scrutiny

Cameroon is among several African nations that have agreed to accept deportees from the United States, including the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, South Sudan, Eswatini, and others. Washington has defended its policy, asserting that while it cannot deport individuals to their home countries, it retains the right to transfer them to third-party nations.

Reports indicate that the US government has offered financial incentives, potentially running into millions of dollars, alongside visa restrictions as leverage to secure these agreements with African governments.