Students and lecturers told the AFP news agency it had been removed from the Legon campus of the University of Ghana overnight on Tuesday.

The statue was unveiled by India’s former President Prana Mukherjee in 2016 to celebrate to strong ties between the two countries.

The university's professors launched a petition calling for its removal soon after the unveiling, saying Gandhi was "racist" and that the university should put African heroes "first and foremost".

In the wake of the row, Ghana's government at the time had said the statue would be relocated.

A journalist has tweeted photos of the plinth before and after its removal:

Kweku Zurek@gskzurek

 The 'racist' Mahatma Gandhi statue has been pulled down at the University of Ghana today. It was ‘donated’ to the University by the Indian President Prenab Mukherjee in 2016.

4:16 PM - Dec 12, 2018

Students welcomed the statue's removal.

Benjamin Mensah told AFP: "It's a massive win for all Ghanaians because it was constantly reminding us of how inferior we are."

Though Gandhi is known for his non-violent resistance to British rule, his comments on Africa and black people have been more controversial.