The Comptroller of the Nigeria Immigration Service for Ogun State Command, Bosede Olayemisi, has officially verified the apprehension of 62 undocumented migrants, consisting of 61 individuals from Cameroon and one from Burkina Faso.
Olayemisi stated that these individuals will be returned to their respective countries within this week.
The Immigration Service took action based on intelligence received from the Lagos Zonal Command, apprehending these illegal migrants in the Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area, specifically around Ibafo and Asese.
Olayemisi disclosed this information during a press conference held on Tuesday at the Immigration state command headquarters in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
She explained, “Last week, our Zonal Command in Lagos reported the arrest of a Cameroonian who was attempting to obtain a Nigerian passport.
He claimed to reside in Ibafo and later confessed that many others like him were living between Ibafo and Sagamu.
Consequently, our officers were deployed, resulting in the arrest of 33 individuals in Ibafo.
Subsequently, we received information that some of them frequently gathered in Asese, Mowe, leading to the apprehension of an additional 28 Cameroonians and one Burkinabe.”
“The detainees repeatedly mentioned two individuals, Terrace, a Cameroonian, and Peter, a Nigerian, who played central roles in this illegal activity.
As part of our investigation, we have detained two Nigerians to assist with inquiries.
Preparations are already underway for their repatriation, as they are considered illegal migrants who entered the country without proper authorization.
Their presence poses a significant security risk and constitutes an unlawful entity within our nation.”
Furthermore, Olayemisi noted that the Cameroonian migrants claimed they were enticed to come to Nigeria with the promise of employment opportunities.
