The Kebbi State Police Command has arrested 165 illegal immigrants residing in a cramped three-bedroom apartment in the Kuwait area of Birnin Kebbi.
According to a statement by the command’s spokesperson, CSP Nafiu Abubakar, on Tuesday, February 4, 2025, the operation followed an intelligence report that led detectives from the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) to the location.
“During the operation, 35 Burkina Faso nationals, 110 from Ivory Coast, 11 from Benin Republic, five from Niger Republic, and four from Mali were taken into custody,” Abubakar stated.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects were living in Nigeria without valid documentation and were allegedly involved in the Qnet Ponzi scheme.
The police have since handed over the suspects to the Nigeria Immigration Service, Kebbi State Command, for further action.
Residents of the Kuwait area have expressed concerns about the rising number of illegal immigrants and their potential impact on local security.
A resident, Adamu Augie, disclosed that the individuals had been living in the apartment for several months, but their activities remained unclear.
“We don’t know what they do for a living, but we often saw them moving in and out. It was clear they were not Nigerians,” Augie said.
He added that locals were uneasy about their presence and had reported the situation to security agencies due to concerns over the current security climate.