The Ondo State Police Command has arrested suspected members of a transnational human trafficking syndicate and rescued 14 victims in two intelligence-led operations across the state, authorities said. The police disclosed the development in a statement issued in Akure on January 31, 2026.
According to DSP Abayomi Jimoh, the police spokesperson, the breakthrough followed a complaint lodged on January 22 by a Togolese national, Meale Yaoili, at the Yaba Police Station.
Yaoili told officers that he was lured from the Republic of Togo to Nigeria with promises of employment in Canada, only to have his personal belongings seized and be held against his will after paying 800,000 CFA francs.
Police operatives responded with a coordinated raid, leading to the arrest of six suspects connected with the syndicate identified in the complaint.
The suspects named by the command include Cleude Grao, Samuel Dsiwa, Michael Amissa, Olayiwola Kazeem, Akinubi Adebayo and Oluwole Vincent, who was alleged to be the landlord of the premises used for the illegal operation. Three victims were rescued during this first intervention.
In a second operation prompted by a report received on January 23 at the Oba-Ile Divisional Headquarters, police uncovered another trafficking network after an initial banditry complaint.
Investigations revealed that the suspects in this case were not bandits but illegal immigrants from the Republic of Chad, residing in a duplex apartment in Akure and suspected to be victims of trans-border trafficking.
Preliminary inquiries identified Umaru Baba as the principal suspect in the second case. He is alleged to have operated as a representative of a company involved in online marketing, which was used as a front to lure, recruit and harbour 11 Chadian men and one woman under the pretext of commission-based marketing work.
The victims were later confirmed to be trafficked persons, and all are now receiving care and support while arrangements are made for diplomatic engagement and repatriation.
Police said the rescued victims will be handed over to their respective embassies for diplomatic action and repatriation once formal procedures are completed. Investigations are ongoing, and officers are pursuing leads to arrest suspects who remain at large.
Ondo State’s Commissioner of Police, Adebowale Lawal, has warned landlords and property owners to conduct thorough background checks on tenants, stressing that negligence in allowing premises to be used for criminal activities could attract legal consequences.
Lawal reaffirmed the command’s commitment to combating human trafficking, trans-border crimes and all forms of organised criminal activities in the state.
The operations reflect a broader national effort to disrupt human trafficking networks and protect vulnerable individuals who are misled with false promises of jobs abroad, underscoring the importance of intelligence-driven policing and inter-agency cooperation in addressing transnational crimes.
