Lagos Police Arrest Six Liberians Over Alleged Visa Scam, Abduction and Human Trafficking

The Lagos State Police Command has arrested six Liberian nationals in connection with an alleged international visa scam, abduction and human trafficking operation targeting victims with false promises of relocation to Canada and the United Kingdom.

The suspects — five men and one woman, aged between 21 and 40 — were apprehended at Gberigbe in the Ikorodu area of Lagos following a report from one of the victims.

According to police sources, the group specialized in defrauding people by promising to secure visas, work permits and residency documents for Canada and other countries.

Victims were reportedly lured from Liberia to Nigeria with the assurance that their travel processing would begin in Lagos. Upon arrival, however, the suspects allegedly collected large sums of money for “travel arrangements” that never existed.

The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, gathered that after arriving in Nigeria, victims’ passports and other travel documents were seized.

They were first kept in a hotel for two to three days, before being moved to a rented apartment in Ikorodu. There, police say, they were held and pressured to recruit more people into the scheme in order to regain their freedom.

“They were promised opportunities to relocate abroad,” a police source told NAN. “After paying the required fees and arriving in Nigeria, they discovered there was no travel arrangement. Instead, they were introduced to a networking business and instructed to recruit others before they could regain their freedom.

The case came to light after one of the victims realized she had been deceived. She had been told her documents for Canada would be processed in Lagos, but nothing materialized and her passport was taken.

While being moved, she met a man on her flight to Nigeria and managed to share her location with him. The man then alerted the police.

Acting on the tip, operatives moved in and rescued the victim, leading to the arrest of the six suspects.

Following the report, the Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Mr. Fatai Tijani, ordered the case to be transferred from the Imota Police Division to the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, in Yaba for a comprehensive investigation.

The investigation is currently being handled by the Delta Force Anti-Robbery Unit of the SCID under the supervision of the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the department, Mr. Dayo Akinbisehin.

Police say efforts are ongoing to track and arrest other members of the syndicate. The six suspects in custody will be charged to court at the conclusion of investigations.

Authorities also confirmed that efforts are being made to assist the rescued victim and to identify other possible victims who may have been lured into the scheme.

The arrest adds to a growing number of cases in Lagos where fraudsters target West Africans with promises of jobs and visas abroad.

Victims are often asked to pay huge fees upfront, only to be stranded once they arrive in Nigeria. In many of these cases, passports are seized to prevent victims from leaving, and they are then coerced into recruiting others to keep the operation running

Police have repeatedly warned the public to verify any travel or recruitment agency through official channels and to be wary of deals that sound too good to be true, especially those conducted solely online or through social media.

The Lagos Command said it will continue to work with immigration authorities and international partners to dismantle trafficking networks operating across borders.

For now, the six Liberians remain in custody at SCID Yaba as investigators build the case for prosecution.