Ondo Amotekun arrests 21 undocumented foreign nationals

Ondo State’s Amotekun Corps says 21 undocumented foreign nationals were among 53 suspects arrested and paraded in Akure over alleged involvement in crimes including kidnapping, murder, burglary, theft and cultism.

The foreigners were arrested in two apartments in Owo, the headquarters of Owo Local Government Area. State commander Adetunji Adeleye said intelligence from members of the Fulani community led to the arrests. The suspects reportedly said they had entered Nigeria from neighboring West African countries to do casual work and repair phones, but could not produce documents authorizing their stay.

Adeleye said the command had observed more foreigners moving through Ondo’s forests and cities under different pretexts in recent months. He said the 21 people had rented only two apartments and were allegedly coordinated and assisted by local residents. The commander said they did not have ECOWAS papers guaranteeing their stay and had been referred to other security agencies for scrutiny.

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I want to call the attention of the general public to the embarrassing way that foreigners traverse the state’s forests and cities under different guises.

He also warned that landlords could face scrutiny if they rented properties without knowing their tenants’ identities and activities. Undocumented foreigners abandoned by sponsors, he said, could become vulnerable to recruitment into criminal activity. The 21 detainees were being handed over to the appropriate government agency for further investigation and action.

Adeleye separately said the command had uncovered a suspected self-kidnapping syndicate involving four suspects who allegedly used social media to raise false alarms and demand money. One suspect reportedly told Amotekun that his siblings had been kidnapped before investigators identified him as an alleged accomplice.

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Apart from being likely to be suspected illegal immigrants, most times when their sponsors abandon them, they become ready tools as criminals and accomplices.