Deborah Akinyosoye
The Nigeria Immigration Service said, on Wednesday, that it arrested 378 illegal immigrants involved in fraudulent activities across Ogun State.
According to a statement on Wednesday, the suspects were apprehended at their hideouts during a joint operation by officers of the Ogun State Command and Zone A headquarters in the Lambe/Ajuwon Akute areas of the state.
Speaking on the arrest, the Comptroller of the Ogun State Command, Muhammed Akadri, said the operation followed credible intelligence reports on their activities.
“After profiling the suspects, we discovered that 334 of them are Cameroonian, 27 Ghanaian, 26 Beninese, and one Togolese. They consist of 251 males and 125 females, all between the ages of 25 and 30,” Akadri said.
He explained that none of the arrested persons had valid travel documents or residence permits.
“They all gained access to Nigeria through unauthorised border routes and could not present any form of identification during interrogation,” he added.
Akadri further stated that the Comptroller General of Immigration, Kemi Nandap, had directed that all necessary procedures be followed to ensure the illegal immigrants were sent back to their countries of origin.
The arrest comes amid heightened efforts by security agencies to crack down on illegal immigration.
Just last week, the NIS apprehended 40 illegal immigrants in Oyo State. Additionally, the Minister of Interior, Tunji Olubunmi-Ojo, recently confirmed that 828 illegal immigrants had been deported from Nigeria in an ongoing nationwide exercise.