The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has dismantled a transnational organized criminal syndicate operating under the guise of the QNET/IGNITE network, arresting its alleged leader and 11 other suspected facilitators while rescuing two victims in coordinated operations across Lagos and Ogun States.
In a statement signed by the Service Public Relations Officer, DCI Akinsola Akinlabi, the Service said the operation was part of its sustained crackdown on irregular migration and transnational organized crimes, following actionable intelligence on the activities of trafficking syndicates operating within the two states.
According to Akinlabi, the operation led to the arrest of Ouattra Adama, a Burkinabé national identified as the alleged leader of the QNET/IGNITE syndicate. Also arrested were 11 suspected facilitators comprising eight Liberians and three Cameroonians.
He disclosed that two Liberian nationals believed to be victims of the syndicate’s illegal activities were rescued during the operation.
Akinlabi added that all 12 suspects and the two rescued victims have been transferred to the Nigeria Immigration Service Headquarters in Abuja for further investigation and necessary legal action.
The NIS spokesperson urged members of the public to exercise caution by verifying employment, educational, business and other migration-related offers through appropriate authorities before making financial commitments or embarking on international travel.
He noted that the successful operation highlights the Service’s commitment to intelligence-driven border management and reinforces its determination to combat irregular migration, human trafficking and other transnational organized crimes in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
