Photo: Police Inspector General Kayode Egbetokun
The Kebbi State Police Command recently arrested 165 illegal immigrants from Burkina Faso, Mali, Ivory Coast, Benin Republic, and Niger Republic. These individuals were found residing in a three-bedroom apartment in the Kuwait area of Birnin Kebbi.
The operation followed an intelligence report, which led detectives from the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) to the apartment. CSP Nafiu Abubakar, the Police Public Relations Officer, confirmed that the suspects were all from Francophone countries.
The arrested individuals included 35 nationals from Burkina Faso, 110 from Ivory Coast, 11 from Benin Republic, five from Niger Republic, and four from Mali.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the immigrants were living in Nigeria without proper documentation and were allegedly involved in the Qnet Ponzi scheme. Following the operation, the suspects were handed over to the Nigeria Immigration Service, Kebbi State Command, for further action.
Local Concerns Over Security
Residents of the Kuwait area in Birnin Kebbi have voiced concerns regarding the security implications of illegal immigration in their neighbourhood. According to Adamu Augie, a resident, many of the detainees had been living in the apartment for several months.
“We didn’t know what they were doing for a living, but we noticed them coming in and out of the apartment. It was clear they weren’t Nigerians, though we didn’t know where they were from,” Augie told Daily Trust.
He explained that locals were unsettled by the presence of these individuals, particularly due to their unfamiliar appearance and non-Nigerian features.
“Some of us reported their presence to the police. In today’s security climate, you can’t be too careful,” Augie added.
Abdullahi Umar, another resident, corroborated the story, stating that the police action followed tips from locals who had observed the unusual movements of the immigrants.
“The police did a good job. We didn’t know anything about these people. Their presence posed a real security risk because they weren’t Nigerians, and no one knew why they were all gathered in that one flat,” Umar explained.
—-adapted from DailyTrust
