•Ogun CP, Ogunlowo
The Ogun State Police Command has rescued 38 Cameroonian nationals from a locked building in the Mowe area of the state.
The victims, comprising 22 men and 16 women, were said to have been lured into the country under pretences by suspected fraudsters who allegedly promised them lucrative business opportunities, reports The PUNCH.
It was learnt from a source privy to the development yesterday that the discovery was made on Sunday, during a routine patrol along the Adesan Abule Afa area of the community.
“The officers were on a routine patrol when they heard unusual noises coming from a building reportedly locked from the outside.
“That prompted them to gain entry into the premises where they found the foreign nationals in a confined state. They also looked distressed,” the source who declined to disclose his identity said.
According to a police source, the victims claimed they had travelled from Cameroon to invest in a business scheme identified as “Quinnet”.
They also disclosed having paid a huge sum of money into the business.
Meanwhile, a 35-year-old Nigerian suspect, Ndubusi Awareobi, from Anambra State, was arrested at the scene and is currently in police custody, assisting with ongoing investigations.
When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Omolola Odutola, confirmed the incident.
She said the immigrants had been handed over to the Nigerian Immigration Service.
“Yes, there were 38 illegal immigrants. Some of them were deceived that they would get job offers on arrival in Nigeria. They have been handed over to the Nigerian Immigration Service.”
The Nigeria Police Force recently apprehended 43 individuals, including suspected traffickers and illegal immigrants, in a major crackdown on a suspected human trafficking syndicate.
The operation followed a formal petition filed by a Ghanaian national to the Interpol Unit in Abuja.
It was earlier reported in March that operatives of the Lagos State Police Command had rescued 27 foreigners who were allegedly kidnapped and confined in an apartment in the Isheri Oshun area of the state.
The command’s spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin, disclosed this during a press briefing that a distress call was received by the Complaint Response Unit from one of the victims, who reported that she and others had been held against their will and were not allowed to leave the apartment.
Hundeyin added that the Divisional Police Officer in the area was immediately contacted, and efforts were thereafter made to rescue them from the apartment.
