The Nasarawa State Police Command has arrested forty suspected illegal immigrants allegedly trafficked into Nigeria from Mali and Ivory Coast.
During the handover of the suspects to the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) in Lafia, the State Commissioner of Police, Shettima Mohammed Jauro, revealed that the group comprised 33 males and seven females between the ages of 19 and 35.
The suspects, many of whom appeared unkempt, were temporarily held at the Police Command headquarters alongside their luggage for profiling, interrogation, and documentation.
CP Jauro told journalists that the arrests followed a tip-off about the arrival of a large group of young men and women who had been moved into a bungalow around Orange Market in the Mararaba area of Karu Local Government Area.
Preliminary investigations indicated that one Abdullahi Berter, a Malian national residing in Nigeria, allegedly deceived the victims with promises of securing jobs for them in France.
“The suspect illegally transported them from Mali to Orange Market, Mararaba, where they were held captive in a bungalow and instructed to invite more persons into Nigeria for an undisclosed operation,” CP Jauro said.
He added that Berter fled upon learning of police presence but was later arrested after a thorough manhunt.
One of the suspects, who identified himself as Mustapha, claimed they entered Nigeria individually through various routes, including the Seme border, in search of business opportunities.
“I came to Nigeria for a networking business. We came individually through different routes, but I followed through the Seme border,” he explained.
Receiving the suspects, the State Comptroller of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Mr. Sekure Ubale, described the arrests as a major breakthrough in inter-agency cooperation and a significant step toward boosting internal security.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police also announced the arrest of a notorious suspected kidnapper, Abubakar Adamu, reportedly responsible for terrorising communities in Obi Local Government Area.
He was apprehended in Adudu community with an AK-47 rifle, magazines, and live ammunition.
Reporting by Chris Nyamtu