Troops of the Nigerian Army’s 65 Battalion have arrested 24 foreign nationals during a security operation at a suspected hideout in Epe Local Government Area of Lagos State.
The development was confirmed on Thursday by the battalion’s acting spokesperson, Musa Yahaya, who said the operation followed credible intelligence reports about the presence of undocumented foreign nationals within the area.
According to Yahaya, the troops, working alongside members of a local vigilante group, raided a fenced compound located in Imokun along the Odo-Noforija/Poka axis of Epe.
During the operation, security personnel apprehended 24 individuals, comprising 15 men and nine women.
Preliminary profiling revealed that the suspects are from several West and Central African countries, including Cameroon, Togo, Côte d’Ivoire, the Republic of Benin, Burkina Faso and Guinea-Bissau.
Yahaya said investigations were immediately launched to determine the immigration status of the suspects, the purpose of their stay in Nigeria and whether they were involved in any criminal activities.
He added that efforts are also ongoing to identify and question the owner of the property where the suspects were found to establish the circumstances surrounding their stay.
The suspects have since been handed over to the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Lagos State Command, for further investigation and necessary action in line with the country’s immigration laws.
