Police in Lagos State have detained 26 foreign nationals following a false kidnapping report that triggered a swift rescue operation but revealed no actual crime.
The arrests, made on June 16 in the Ikorodu area, involved 19 Chadians and seven Cameroonians. Officers discovered the group in an apartment during investigations into the complaint by a 22-year-old Cameroonian woman, Konga Delphine.
Delphine had reported being kidnapped after traveling from Cameroon to meet a 39-year-old Chadian man she met online. Investigations quickly established the claim was fabricated. She made the report after learning the man was married, according to police sources.
"The woman travelled from Cameroon to meet her lover whom she had been communicating with online but became disappointed after discovering that he was married," a police source told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). "She subsequently sought a way to return home without informing him and reported that she had been kidnapped."
Communication barriers initially complicated the response, as Delphine spoke limited English, prompting officers to treat the case as urgent. Operatives from the tactical creek sweeper squad traced the location and found the larger group instead of a hostage situation.
Many of those detained, aged 19 to 50 and including four women, could not produce valid travel or residency documents. Some Chadians claimed they entered Nigeria for an evangelical crusade linked to a major church, while Cameroonians said they were engaged in network marketing for a company called Ignite.
Lagos State Commissioner of Police Fatai Tijani ordered the case transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Yaba for deeper scrutiny. The probe is being handled by the Diplomatic and Foreigners Desk under Deputy Commissioner Dayo Akinbisehin.
"They are currently undergoing profiling and immigration-related checks to determine their legal status and whether any laws have been violated," the police source added.