84 ‘foreigners’ arrested at Karu abattoir released

The 84 people arrested at Karu abattoir, Abuja, on January 16 by a combined team of the military, police, NSCDC and DSS and handed over to the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) have since been released, Daily Trust learnt.

They were arrested on the suspicion that they were Fulani from Niger Republic, but our reporter gathered that after screening them, the NIS discovered they were Nigerians and were released.

A resident of Karu, Ahmed Abdullahi, who was privy to the situation, said they travelled from Jigawa State to Abuja in large numbers in a truck, which drew the suspicion of the security agencies.

He said the suspects were migrant workers from the North, who usually travel to Abuja and other big cities in the South in search of menial jobs.

“It was their sheer numbers that attracted the attention of the security agencies. Besides, they were travelling in a truck that also conveyed cattle. But after they were handed over to the Immigration, the service screened them and found out that they were migrant workers so they were released the following day,” Abdullahi added.

Efforts to get the FCT police command public relations officer, Anjuguri Manzah, to comment on the development failed as his mobile phone number did not connect.

The PRO of NIS, Sunday James, told our reporter that after profiling, the service discovered that all of them were Nigerians and not Nigeriens and so were released.