Immigration Apprehends 55 Illegal Foreign Nationals  in Osun

Immigration Apprehends 55 Illegal Foreign Nationals  in Osun

 The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Osun State Command, has arrested 55 irregular migrants from Cameroon and the Republic of Congo for allegedly entering and residing in the state without valid travel documents.

The migrants were paraded by the command on Friday following a series of intelligence-led operations conducted at different locations across the state.

The Comptroller of Immigration, Osun State Command, Ibrahim Akinyemi, disclosed this while briefing journalists shortly after the parade.

Akinyemi said the migrants were apprehended after intelligence gathered by the command led officers to their various locations.

He explained that the migrants allegedly entered Nigeria through unauthorised routes and were subsequently located at different residences in the state.

According to him, the command would profile the migrants and examine their immigration status to determine whether any of them qualifies for regularisation before commencing the repatriation process.

“They are irregular migrants. They were arrested and brought here for repatriation. They came in through an unauthorised route,” Akinyemi said.

He added that preliminary checks showed that the migrants did not possess valid travel documents, including passports.

The comptroller further alleged that some of the migrants were involved in an online business that had not been registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission.

He said some of the migrants were traced to Owode-Ede community, while efforts were ongoing to identify and apprehend others who might be staying at undisclosed locations across the state.

Akinyemi said the migrants claimed during interrogation that they came to Osun to engage in an online business known as QNET, but declined to provide further details about the nature of their activities.

He added that the command was investigating how the migrants entered the country and would also pursue individuals suspected of facilitating their movement into Osun.

The comptroller said the migrants claimed to have travelled through Yola, Adamawa State, before arriving in Osun.

“We are taking them back to where they came from,” he said.

One of the migrants, Ismail Mohammed, a Cameroonian, told journalists that he arrived in Osun in February 2026 after being invited by a woman living in Chad to engage in an online business.

The latest arrests come amid continuing security and immigration concerns surrounding irregular migration and the use of unauthorised routes into Nigeria.

In a related development, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Kwara State Command, had previously arrested 12 suspected irregular migrants from Mali in the Akerebiata area of Ilorin following a tip-off from residents.

The suspects were arrested on February 22, 2025, at about 10 p.m. and were reportedly occupying a two-bedroom apartment rented through a local agent under circumstances considered suspicious by the authorities.

The Osun Immigration Command said its intelligence-led operations would continue as part of efforts to strengthen immigration control, identify irregular migrants and ensure compliance with Nigeria’s immigration laws.