The Lagos State Police Command has rescued 27 foreign nationals who were lured into Nigeria under false promises of employment. The victims, comprising 18 men and nine women from Ghana and Benin Republic, were found held captive in the Isheri Oshun area of Lagos.

According to the spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, Benjamin Hundeyin, “A distress call from one of the victims led officers from the Conflict Response Unit to the location, where they freed the individuals. Preliminary investigations suggest the victims were to be transported elsewhere, raising concerns about potential international trafficking.”

The police have launched an extensive probe to identify the traffickers and their network. In addition to the rescue of the foreign nationals, the Command also rescued six kidnap victims and arrested multiple suspects, including two Pakistani nationals and two other Nigerians, in a series of anti-kidnapping operations across the state.

In one of the cases, two Pakistani nationals, Umarangol, 19, and Aftab Hamad, 28, were arrested for allegedly kidnapping a fellow Pakistani whom they had lured to Lagos under the guise of offering him employment as a chef. The victim was held hostage in a hotel on Awolowo Road, Ikeja, where the kidnappers demanded a N50 million ransom for his release.

Hundeyin said, “A swift intervention by the police led to the victim’s rescue, and two of the seven suspected kidnappers were apprehended. The case has since been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), and the Pakistani embassy has been notified of the development.”