At least 50 persons, some of them children from neighbouring African countries, were, yesterday, rescued from a duplex on Omola Road, in the Edemola area of Epe, Lagos.
News filtered around Epe and the entire Lagos State that the rescued persons, foreigners, were kidnapped and kept in the kidnappers’ den, pending when ransom would be paid for their release.
However, the police said they were not kidnapped victims.
Rather, findings at the Okeoyibo Police Division where the rescued persons were taken to revealed that they were from Cameroun and Gabon.
According to the police, investigation revealed that they were deceived by some fleeing Cameroonian ring leaders of a job scam gang, that there were job opportunities in Nigeria.
The victims, as gathered, were discovered to have paid an unspecified amount to the fraudsters. Some of them reportedly told policemen that they sold their valuables, including houses , back home, in order to raise money for the journey to Nigeria, for the promised jobs.
On arrival, they were reportedly kept in the duplex with a stern warning not to step outside, until they got the promised jobs.
Some of them were discovered to have been in the building for six months.
A trader, who simply identified herself as Iya Modunat, told Sunday Vanguard: “ A resident of the area alerted the traditional ruler of the community of unusual movements in the building at odd hours. Nobody knew any of the occupants, or what they did, they didn’t interact with people.
“Thereafter, the authorities including members of the vigilante group were invited here today (yesterday). About 70 of them were brought out of the building, with their luggage”.
They were all foreigners. Among them were 20 children”.
When contacted, Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Superintendent Benjamin Hudenyin, said the main suspect had fled to Cameroon.
He said 34 persons were rescued.
He clarified: “They are not kidnapped victims, they were deceived by some Cameroonians that there were jobs in Nigeria, only to be stranded because they have expended all their money. All of them have been taken to the police station.
“The ring leader is on the run.He gave all of them the same arrival date, when they arrived, he collected their money from them,asked them to stay in that room , left with a promise to be back, only to abandon them and went back to Cameroon”.
