The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai
Owoseni, on Thursday, disclosed that 84 illegal immigrants had been arrested
along Seme/Badagry waterside, while attempting to sneak into Nigeria at night.
According to the police, the immigrants, all men,
were arrested in two batches. The first set was arrested on January 10th
and the second on January 11th.
The police said that both arrests took place at
night, while the men were waiting for vehicles to convey them into Nigeria.
The immigrants are from Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin
Republic and Niger Republic. They claimed to be heading to Gabon in search of
greener pastures. All of them are menial workers.
This arrest came less than 72 hours, after the
Department of State Services (DSS), on Tuesday, arrested four fleeing Boko
Haram suspects in Lagos.
The DSS said: “The Service arrested four suspected
fleeing members of the Boko Haram; Fanayi Bukar Hassan, Butame Hassan, Kologoni
Bukar, and Amina Abubakar on 10th January, 2017 at Oko-Oba, Ifako-Ijaiye LGA of
Lagos State.”
Yesterday, Owoseni
said the immigrants were from different parts of West Africa, heading to Gabon.
The men were arrested by policemen from Lagos State and Border Patrol Unit from
Force Headquarters, Abuja.
Owoseni said: “As part of our proactive efforts to
stop criminal elements from taking over Lagos, the command in synergy with
Border Patrol, Force Headquarters, Abuja, have arrested 84 illegal immigrants.
They were being shipped in at night through Seme-Badagru waters. They claimed
to be heading to Gabon. They were arrested while being moved from waters into
vehicles. They will be transferred to Nigeria Immigration Services.”
The immigrants, who looked shabby, said they had
been trekking since December 14, hopeful that when they get to Gabon, they
would have a success story.
One the
immigrants, Guene Mumuni, a painter from Bukina Faso, speaking an interpreter
in French, said that most of them met at the waterside between Seme and
Badagry.
He said they were waiting for a ship, to come and
take to Gabon, when Nigerian Police swooped on them. While admitting that he
was hoping to get a job at Gabon, added he decided to head to Gabon to meet his
brother.
According to him, he was waiting at the waterside
for a ship to come and pick him and others, based on instructions from his
brother.
Mumuni explained that they trekked from Burkina
Faso, down to Togo and from there to Benin Republic. The next stop and pick up
was Nigeria, from where they were expected to sail to Gabon. But their sudden
arrest dashed their dreams.
Mumuni, who said he only attended a Quranic school,
said: “We didn’t come through the waters. We trekked from Benin Republic until
we got to the waterside. We were waiting for a ship to come and pick us when
police came and arrested us.
Comparoare Musa, a Beninoise, a casual worker in
Burkina –Faso, said he decided to undertake the journey after he was told that
casual workers in Gabon earned twice what he is being paid in Burkina-Faso.
Owoseni reiterated the command’s resolve to spread
its dragnet to all nooks and crannies of the state.
He said: “No illegal immigrant would find it easy to
infiltrates the state.”
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