Kebbi Police Arrest 165 Illegal Immigrants Found Living in a Three-Bedroom Flat.

165 illegal immigrants from Burkina Faso, Mali, Ivory Coast, Benin Republic, and Niger Republic have been taken into custody by the Kebbi State Police Command.

They were all living in a three-bedroom flat in the Birnin Kebbi neighbourhood of Kuwait.

The arrests came after an intelligence report that led detectives from the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) to identify the arrested individuals from francophone countries residing in the small flat, according to a statement released by the command spokesperson, CSP Nafiu Abubakar, on Tuesday, February 4, 2025.

“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,” he said.

He claimed that early investigations had shown the individuals were reportedly involved in the Qnet Ponzi scheme and were living in Nigeria without proper documentation.

The accused have been turned over to the Nigeria Immigration Service, Kebbi State Command, CSP Abubakar added. Concerns regarding illegal immigration and its possible effects on local security were voiced by the local population.

Adamu Augie, a resident of Birnin Kebbi’s Kuwait neighbourhood, claimed that many of the people in custody had been residing in the neighbourhood for a number of months.

We have been observing people entering and leaving the flat, but we are unsure of their occupation.

They are obviously not Nigerians, even though we don’t know where they’re from,” Augie told the Daily Trust.

He clarified that because of their strange appearance and non-Nigerian appearance, the people were uncomfortable with their presence.

he continued “A few of us informed the police about their presence. You can’t be overly cautious given the security situation right now”.