Key Takeaways
- Benue police have arrested 34 foreigners in Otukpo and Orokam and are investigating their immigration status and presence in Nigeria.
- Commissioner Cletus Nwadiogbu said police arrested 16 Cameroonians in Otukpo on October 9 and intercepted 18 Nigeriens in Orokam on October 22.
- Police have disclosed no evidence linking the suspects to specific crimes and plan to hand them over to the Nigeria Immigration Service after investigations.
The Benue State Command of the Nigeria Police Force has confirmed the arrest of 34 foreigners from across two local government areas of the state.
The suspects, who were arrested in Otukpo and Orokam, are being investigated over their immigration status and the circumstances surrounding their presence in the country.
This is as the force raised security concerns over the growing number of foreign nationals travelling to Otukpo.
The State Commissioner of Police, Cletus Nwadiogbu, confirmed their arrest in a statement on Tuesday (today) while parading the suspects alongside other people arrested for various offences at the command headquarters in Makurdi.
He noted that 16 Cameroonian nationals were arrested in Otukpo, Otukpo Local Government Area, on October 9, while 18 Nigeriens were intercepted at Orokam in Ogbadigbo Local Government Area on October 22.
The commissioner said the 16 Cameroonians claimed they had come to settle in Otukpo but could not give a clear explanation for their decision to move to the town.
He expressed concern over what he described as the growing attraction of Otukpo to foreign nationals whose movements had raised security questions.
“Otukpo has become a place where they like to go and hibernate. There must be something taking them to that axis,” Nwadiogbu said.
