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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Crime & Justice

NSCDC busts Lagos detention camp, rescues 24, arrests four foreigners

From The Punch · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Official statement Outcome reported
  • The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Lagos State busted an illegal detention camp in Badagry, rescuing 24 victims.
  • Four foreign nationals from Togo, Benin Republic, and Ghana were arrested for allegedly operating the camp and extorting money from victims' families.
  • Victims were lured to the camp through deception and forced into criminal activities or to extort ransoms from their relatives.

Operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Lagos State have uncovered an illegal detention camp in the Badagry area, leading to the rescue of 24 victims, including a toddler. The operation also resulted in the arrest of four foreign nationals suspected of being part of a cross-border criminal syndicate.

Operatives of the NSCDC Lagos State Command, acting on credible and actionable intelligence, arrested the kingpin and three other suspected illegal foreign nationals linked to missing persons found at various black spots and hideouts in Itoga, Badagry.

— Adedotun KeshinroLagos State Commandant of the NSCDC detailing the operation that led to the discovery of the detention camp.

The Lagos State Commandant of the NSCDC, Adedotun Keshinro, stated that the raid followed credible intelligence on criminal activities in the area. The arrested suspects are nationals of Togo, Benin Republic, and Ghana. The rescued victims include 18 males and six females, comprising nationals from Togo, Benin Republic, and Nigeria, who were allegedly lured to the camp through inducements and deceptive means.

The operation also led to the rescue of 24 victims comprising 18 males and six females, including a toddler. The victims are nationals of Togo, Benin Republic and Nigeria and are believed to have been lured into the camp through inducements and other deceptive means.

— Adedotun KeshinroLagos State Commandant of the NSCDC describing the rescued victims.

Preliminary investigations revealed that some victims had been missing for extended periods, ranging from three months to three years, before their rescue. Commandant Keshinro alleged that the suspects operated a scheme to extort money from the victims' relatives. They reportedly forced some victims to fabricate stories of kidnapping or accidents during phone calls to their families to obtain illicit funds.

Some of the victims had been declared missing by their families for periods ranging from three months to three years without any knowledge of their whereabouts.

— Adedotun KeshinroLagos State Commandant of the NSCDC on the duration some victims had been missing.

Furthermore, the suspects allegedly compelled victims to engage in fraudulent activities, trade in hard drugs, and lure other unsuspecting individuals into the camp. The NSCDC appealed to the public to come forward and identify any of the rescued victims who might be their missing relatives. Efforts are underway to prosecute the suspects.

The suspects forcefully compelled some of the victims to fabricate stories during telephone conversations with their families, claiming they had been kidnapped, abducted or involved in accidents in a bid to obtain illicit money and ransoms from unsuspecting relatives.

— Adedotun KeshinroLagos State Commandant of the NSCDC detailing the extortion methods used by the suspects.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Punch in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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