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The lagos state command of the the Nigeria Immigration Service NIS have recieved 23 victims of migrant smuggling intercepted by the Nigeria police.
Lagos State Comptroller NIS Bala Dangana who made this known during a press briefing in lagos say the victims comprising of 20 Cameroonians and 3 Burkinabe nationals were arrested by officers of the Nigeria Police force following a tip off by residents of Igando, Ibeju Lekki Community area of the state.
Dangana further revealed that residents of the area called the attention of the police to ascertain the status of the 23 strangers who were camped in an apartment for sometime
This led to further investigation by the police, as they were able to uncover that the strangers were victims of migrant smuggling as they were allegedly smuggled into the country by fraudulent representatives of Qnet, Nigeria, an online network marketing company.
Dangana further disclosed that the victims were recieved by the lagos NIS on the 14th of February 2024 adding that upon profiling by the NIS it was discovered that non of the victims had any valid travel documents and some of them are even scammers working to recruit for the online company.
Dangana stressed that in line with the vision of the Comptroller General NIS Wuraola Adepoju to ensure that illegal migrants are not allowed into the country, that is why there is synergy with other security agencies to fight the menace in the interest of the security of the nation
He said as “they continue investigation on the victims, they are currently working in collaboration with the community, the Ibeju lekki local government Chairman to apprehend the smugglers. adding that “to this end, it is imperative that we inform the public that the rescued persons are not kidnappers as earlier suspected by residents of the community but victims of migrant smuggling “.
The lagos NIS boss said the diplomatic mission offices of Cameron and Burkina Faso have been contacted to initiate the process of ensuring that the victims are safely returned to their home countries.
One of the victims however disclosed that he has been in Nigeria since November 2023, as he came in through Oron Cross Rivers state and that he was recruited by an online marketing firm to sell products online
