Molly Kilete, Abuja
The police in Karu, a satellite town in the Federal Capital Territory ( FCT), Abuja, have arrested 84 foreigners who reportedly sneaked into the country at the Karu abattoir.
The Daily Sun gathered that the foreigners, said to Fulani from Niger Republic, were arrested by a police patrol team stationed at the abattoir when they entered the area in a suspicious manner.
Police sources told Daily Sun, in Abuja, that the 84 foreigners were conveyed in a lorry loaded with cows and were spotted by eagle-eyed policemen when they tried to sneak into the abattoir through the wrong route.
It was gathered that the policemen in the area began to suspect the truck driver who opted to take the wrong route. Upon noticing the suspicious movement of the vehicle, it was gathered that the Police team flagged down the truck to stop.
The driver of the truck was said to have disobeyed the policemen, thus forcing the law enforcement agents to go after him and forcefully stopped him.
Upon stopping the truck, the policemen were said to have demanded to know the identity of the driver, his passengers, his mission and why he was using the wrong route.
The driver and the occupants of the truck were said to have got angry with the policemen and tried to fight them for daring to stop them from entering the abattoir.
The Daily Sun also gathered that when the foreigners were trying to overpower the policemen, they (policemen) quickly ran to the military checkpoint located around the abattoir and reported the matter to the military personnel on duty who immediately went to scene of the incident and arrested the foreigners and took them to their base located at the primary health center in the area.
As the news of the arrest got to the FCT Police Command, it was gathered that the Divisional Police Officer in charge of the area, was mandated to go to the scene and report back to the command headquarters.
The arrest was said to have attracted men of the Department of State Security (DSS), the military, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and other security agencies, who advised the DPO to hand over the foreigners to the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS).
The Daily Sun also gathered that before handing over the foreigners to the Immigration office, located at the Shehu Musa Yar’ Adua/Airport Road, the police called in the head of Fulani in Karu and the Chief of Karu to observe things for themselves.
It was further gathered that it was after the chiefs were invited that it became known to all that the foreigners were Fulani’s from Niger Republic.
Military sources, who do not want to be mentioned in prints, also confirmed arrest and said the men and their cattle were handed over to Immigration authorities since the police and the military were not empowered to handle the matter.
Investigation by the Daily Sun revealed that the foreigners might have been released to go.
When contacted, the Public Relations Officer in charge of the FCT Police Command, Anjuguri Manzah, said he was not aware of the development and promised to get back to our reporter.
However, he did not respond at the time of filing this report.
Also when contacted, spokesman for the Nigerian Immigration Service, Sunday James, neither denied nor confirmed the report but asked for time to get more information.