No fewer than 38 Cameroonian nationals have been rescued by the Ogun State Police Command from a locked building in the Mowe area of the state.
The victims, who include 22 men and 16 women, were reportedly lured into the country under pretences by suspected fraudsters who allegedly promised them lucrative business opportunities.
Chronicle NG gathered from a source privy to the development on Tuesday 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 to have travelled from Cameroon to participate in a business scheme known as “Quinnet”.
They also admitted to having invested a large sum of money in the firm.
Meanwhile, Ndubusi Awareobi, a 35-year-old Nigerian suspect from Anambra State, was detained on the spot and is now in police custody, aiding with continuing investigations.
When contacted, State Police Public Relations Officer Omolola Odutola confirmed the event.
She stated that 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 has arrested 43 people, including suspected traffickers and illegal immigrants, as part of a significant raid on a suspected human trafficking organisation.
The action came after a Ghanaian national filed a formal plea with the Interpol Unit in Abuja.
Chronicle NG reports that operatives of the Lagos State Police Command had freed 27 foreigners who were allegedly kidnapped and kept in an apartment in the Isheri Oshun area of the state.
During a press briefing, the command’s spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin, stated that the Complaint Response Unit received a distress call from one of the victims, who reported that she and others were being kept against their will and were not permitted to leave the flat.
Hundeyin also stated that the Divisional Police Officer in the neighbourhood was promptly notified, and efforts were made to rescue them from the flat.
