Troops of the 65 Battalion, Nigerian Army, have arrested 24 foreign nationals during a raid on a suspected hideout in Epe Local Government Area of Lagos State as part of ongoing operations against criminal elements, illegal immigrants and other security threats.
The operation, carried out in collaboration with members of the Vigilante Group, followed credible intelligence on the presence of undocumented foreign nationals in a secluded fenced compound at Imokun in the Odo-Noforija/Poka axis of Epe.
According to the Army, the suspects comprise 15 males and 9 females. Preliminary profiling identified them as nationals of Cameroon (10), Togo (6), Côte d’Ivoire (3), Republic of Benin (3), Burkina Faso (1) and Guinea-Bissau (1).
Military authorities said investigations are ongoing to determine the suspects’ immigration status, reasons for their stay in Nigeria and whether they were involved in any criminal activities. Efforts are also underway to identify and question the owner of the property where they were found.
The 24 suspects have since been handed over to the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Lagos State Command, for further investigation and necessary action in line with Nigeria’s immigration laws.
Commending the troops, the General Officer Commanding 81 Division, Major General Adebayo Babalola, urged personnel to sustain operations aimed at denying criminal elements and illegal immigrants safe havens within the division’s area of responsibility.
Daily Times
