The Ogun State Police Command has busted a Cameroonian syndicate that kidnapped victims under the guise of visa processing.
Two suspects were arrested, one rescued, while the ringleader remains on the run.
The Ogun State Police Command has uncovered and dismantled a criminal syndicate made up of Cameroonian nationals who allegedly lured and kidnapped victims under the pretext of facilitating visa processing for foreign travel.
According to a statement from the command, the operation was carried out by operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit at Eleweran on November 4, 2025, following a distress call from a Cameroonian woman who had narrowly escaped captivity.
The victim told police that she had been deceived by a fellow Cameroonian, identified simply as Donald, who promised to help her secure a Canadian visa. She arrived in Nigeria on September 29, 2025, through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, where members of the syndicate received her and transported her to Mowe in Ogun State.
There, she and her 23-year-old sister were held hostage by the group posing as a travel agency. On November 3, 2025, she managed to escape and alerted the police, revealing that more victims were still being held in a two-bedroom apartment in the Pakuro area of Mowe.
Acting on the information, a tactical team from the Anti-Kidnapping Unit raided the hideout, rescuing another victim, identified as Kengne Maeva, unharmed. Two suspects Ndzana Kamga Isidore and Tingue Stephen, were arrested at the scene, while the ringleader, Donald, remains on the run.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the victims’ families in Cameroon had already paid a ransom of 3.6 million CFA into Donald’s account before his disappearance.
Reacting to the development, the Ogun State Commissioner of Police, CP Lanre Ogunlowo, commended the Anti-Kidnapping Unit for their swift response and directed intensified surveillance to prevent similar incidents. He also urged community leaders, especially in remote areas, to promptly report suspicious foreign nationals renting apartments directly to the Police Headquarters for immediate investigation.
The police have launched a manhunt for the fleeing suspect and assured that all those involved in the crime will be brought to justice.
