Troops from the 65 Battalion, operating under the 81 Division of the Nigerian Army, have detained twenty-four foreign citizens during a sweep of a suspected hideout in the Epe Local Government Area of Lagos State. The security operation was launched as part of broader initiatives to tackle unlawful immigration and eliminate potential security threats within the region. Lieutenant Colonel Musa Yahaya, the Acting Deputy Director of Army Public Relations for the 81 Division, shared the details in an official statement released on Thursday. He explained that the raid was executed after the battalion received reliable intelligence pointing to the presence of undocumented foreign individuals within their assigned area of responsibility.
Collaborating closely with a local vigilante group, the soldiers entered a secluded, fenced property located at Imokun, situated along the Odo-Noforija/Poka axis in Epe. The operation resulted in the successful apprehension of the twenty-four individuals, consisting of fifteen men and nine women. An initial profiling session conducted by security personnel indicated that the detainees originated from six different countries across West and Central Africa. Specifically, the group includes ten individuals from Cameroon, six from Togo, three from Côte d’Ivoire, three from the Republic of Benin, one from Burkina Faso, and one from Guinea-Bissau.
The military has launched preliminary inquiries to verify the exact immigration status of each individual, uncover the underlying purpose of their stay in Nigeria, and check for any potential involvement in criminal operations. Additionally, security teams are taking steps to track down and interrogate the owner of the compound to better understand how the individuals came to reside there and what activities were being conducted on the premises.
Following these initial steps, the army transferred the individuals to the Lagos State Command of the Nigeria Immigration Service on July 16, 2026. The immigration authorities will handle the remaining investigations, detailed profiling, and subsequent administrative steps required by regional immigration frameworks. Major General Adebayo Babalola, the General Officer Commanding of the 81 Division, praised the participating troops for displaying high levels of alertness and professional conduct during the mission. He tasked the personnel with maintaining the momentum of their current security sweeps, instructing them to aggressively deny unauthorized migrants and criminal networks any form of safe harbor within the division’s territory. The commander concluded by emphasizing the division’s ongoing dedication to working hand-in-hand with sister security agencies to preserve public order and safety throughout Lagos and neighboring areas.
Source: https://punchng.com/
