(CNN) A controversial statue of Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi has been pulled down at the University of Ghana following protests and petitions for its removal.

The figure was removed between Tuesday night and Wednesday from where it had stood on a recreational area of the university campus in Ghana's capital of Accra since 2016.

Ghana's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration approved the statue's removal, university spokeswoman Stella Amoa told CNN on Friday, following petitions by the university's council to the government. CNN contacted the ministry for comment Friday but did not immediately receive a response.

After its unveiling two years ago, the monument sparked protests among students and faculty members, who claim that Gandhi was "racist" and African figures should be put up first, according to a Change.org petition

Gandhi was renowned across the world for his peaceful activism and remembered for his successful push for India's independence from Britain's colonial rule. He was assassinated in 1948.

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