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Tag: Togolese

  • Togolese narrates lucky escape from cross-border trafficking syndicate

    Togolese narrates lucky escape from cross-border trafficking syndicate

    • …as police arrest six suspects, rescue 14 victims

    A Togolese national, Mr Meale Yaoili, has escaped from the custody of a suspected human trafficking syndicate operating in Ondo State, prompting police action that led to the arrest of six suspects and the rescue of 14 victims.

    Yaoili reported the incident to operatives of the Yaba Police Station of the Ondo State Police Command after fleeing from his captors.

    The victim said he was lured from the Republic of Togo to Nigeria under the pretext of helping him to secure employment in Canada.

    According to him, he had known one Tchodia Potolaw Fidel, now at large, since 2019.

    He alleged that Fidel claimed he was based in Canada and convinced him to travel to Nigeria, telling him there was no Canadian embassy in Togo.

    Yaoili alleged that upon arrival, his personal belongings were seized and he was held against his will after paying 800,000 CFA francs for the promised job opportunity.

    Read Also: Ondo police bust Togolese-led human trafficking syndicate, rescue victims in Akure

    Confirming the incident in a statement yesterday, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Jimoh Abayomi, said the command immediately launched an operation following the complaint.

    He said swift and coordinated action led to the arrest of six suspects: Cleude Grao, Samuel Dsiwa, Michael Amissa, Olayiwola Kazeem, Akinubi Adebayo and Oluwole Vincent.

    Abayomi explained that Vincent was the landlord of the premises where the illegal operation was conducted.

    He added that three victims were rescued during the raid.

    In a related development, the police also uncovered another suspected trafficking ring after a case initially reported as banditry was lodged on January 23, 2026, at the Oba-Ile Divisional Headquarters by the Chief of Oba-Ile.

    The matter was later transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for further investigation.

    Preliminary findings, according to the PPRO, revealed that the suspects were not bandits but illegal immigrants from the Republic of Chad occupying a duplex apartment around the OSOPADEC area of Akure.

    He said investigators identified the principal suspect as Umaru Baba, who is allegedly involved in trans-border crimes, including recruitment, human trafficking and modern-day slavery.

    Abayomi explained that Baba reportedly posed as a representative of an online marketing company to lure migrants with promises of commission-based employment before harbouring them illegally.

    He said eleven men and one woman were recruited and transported into Nigeria unlawfully.

    The victims were identified as Husein Abdullahi (26), Hassan Yaya (23), Umaru Samida (19), Umaru Buba (24), Mohammed Almat (24) and Saleh Abduraman (23),

    Others are Musa Mohammed (22), Mohammed Watala (20), Ali Mohammad (26), Hassan Hussein (24), and Yusuf Yakubu (23).

    He noted that all are Chadian nationals and are being treated as victims of trafficking rather than suspects.

    Abayomi added that efforts to inspect the premises were initially hampered by the absence of the key holder.

    He said the female landlord, said to be residing in Ibadan, is being traced for questioning over alleged negligence.

    “The suspects in both cases are currently in custody and have reportedly provided useful statements, while investigations continue in order to apprehend other fleeing accomplices.

    “The rescued victims will be handed over to their respective embassies for diplomatic action and repatriation,” Abayomi said.

    The Commissioner of Police, CP Lawal Adebowale, warned landlords and property owners to conduct proper background checks on prospective tenants, stressing that negligence could attract legal consequences.

    He also commended the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, for ongoing reforms and technological innovations which he said had improved operational efficiency in the state.

    Adebowale reassured residents of the command’s commitment to combating human trafficking and other trans-border crimes, urging members of the public to provide credible information to support policing efforts.

  • Togolese escapes human trafficking ring

    Togolese escapes human trafficking ring

    A Togolese, Mr Meale Yaoili, has escaped from the custody of a suspected human trafficking syndicate operating in Ondo State, prompting police action that led to the arrest of six suspects and the rescue of multiple victims.

    Yaoili reported the incident to operatives of the Yaba Police Station of the Ondo Police Command after fleeing from his captors.

    The victim said he was lured from the Republic of Togo to Nigeria under the pretext of securing employment in Canada.

    According to him, he had known one Tchodia Potolaw Fidel, now at large, since 2019. 

    He alleged that Fidel allegedly claimed he was based in Canada and convinced him to travel to Nigeria, telling him there was no Canadian embassy in Togo.

    Upon arrival, Yaoili alleged that his personal belongings were seized and he was held against his will after paying 800,000 CFA francs for the promised job opportunity.

    Confirming the incident in a statement on Saturday, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Jimoh Abayomi, said the command immediately launched an operation following the complaint.

    He said swift and coordinated action led to the arrest of six suspects: Cleude Grao, Samuel Dsiwa, Michael Amissa, Olayiwola Kazeem, Akinubi Adebayo and Oluwole Vincent.

    Abayomi explained that Vincent is the landlord of the premises where the illegal operation was conducted. 

    He added that three victims were rescued during the raid.

    In a related development, the police also uncovered another suspected trafficking ring after a case initially reported as banditry was lodged on January 23, 2026, at the Oba-Ile Divisional Headquarters by the Chief of Oba-Ile.

    The matter was later transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for further investigation.

    Preliminary findings, according to the PPRO, revealed that the suspects were not bandits but illegal immigrants from the Republic of Chad occupying a duplex apartment around the OSOPADEC area of Akure.

    He said investigators identified the principal suspect as Umaru Baba, who is allegedly involved in trans-border crimes, including recruitment, human trafficking and modern-day slavery.

    Abayomi explained that Baba reportedly posed as a representative of an online marketing company to lure migrants with promises of commission-based employment before harbouring them illegally.

    He said eleven men and one woman were recruited and transported into Nigeria unlawfully.

    The victims were identified as Husein Abdullahi (26), Hassan Yaya (23), Umaru Samida (19), Umaru Buba (24), Mohammed Almat (24) and Saleh Abduraman (23), 

    Others are: Musa Mohammed (22), Mohammed Watala (20), Ali Mohammad (26), Hassan Hussein (24), and Yusuf Yakubu (23).

    He noted that all are Chadian nationals and are being treated as victims of trafficking rather than suspects.

    Abayomi added that efforts to inspect the premises were initially hampered by the absence of the key holder.

    He said the female landlord, said to be residing in Ibadan, is being traced for questioning over alleged negligence.

    “The suspects in both cases are currently in custody and have reportedly provided useful statements, while investigations continue to apprehend other fleeing accomplices.

    “The rescued victims will be handed over to their respective embassies for diplomatic action and repatriation,” Abayomi said.

    The Commissioner of Police, CP Lawal Adebowale, warned landlords and property owners to conduct proper background checks on prospective tenants, stressing that negligence could attract legal consequences.

    He also commended the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, for ongoing reforms and technological innovations that have improved operational efficiency in the state.

    Adebowale reassured residents of the command’s commitment to combating human trafficking and other trans-border crimes, urging members of the public to provide credible information to support policing efforts.

  • Long road to compensation for Togolese brutality victims

    Long road to compensation for Togolese brutality victims

    Twenty-three years after judgment, victims of Togolese military brutality are yet to get their CFA 250m injury award, ADEBISI ONANUGA reports

    Two businessmen who were unlawfully shot and wounded by the Togolese Navy 23 years ago have pleaded with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in his capacity as ECOWAS President, and President Faure Gnassingbe of Togo to use their offices to prevail on Togolese Defence Authorities to pay the CFA 250 million damages awarded to them by the tribunal of inquiry set up by the Togolese government.

    On September 8, 2000, a Nigerian, Mr Taju Shoaga, a native of Abeokuta, Ogun State, accompanied by his friend and business partner, Mr Segun Koulonou Leopard, had visited Port Autonorme Lome to purchase vehicles which they usually bring back to Nigeria to sell. That trip was not  their first as they were well known at the port both by the Europeans, Togolese and other nationalities that thronged the port to conduct automobile sales business.

    Time was 8.00am and their agent had called upon them to quickly fast track the clearance of the car they just bought to avoid it being vandalized by the ‘port rats’, as thugs who specialized in stealing car components are called. They were busy with this when suddenly some men in mufti  swept on them and ordered them to lie down. They obeyed, only to hear bullet shots piercing their legs.

    Mr Shoaga narrated their sordid experience: “The time was almost 8.00 a.m. and our agent was then calling me to quickly meet up with him so as to clear the already bought car first to avoid vandalising the car by the thugs at the port.

    “Suddenly we saw some armed men all in mufti signaling us to stop.  We stopped immediately, we were ordered to come down and lie on the floor of the port authority, the next thing I could hear was gbum-gbum. Before I realised it was a gun shot,  I was already bleeding. My second was bleeding as  well. 

    “We were first taken to their dock yard with a Hilux pick up van. One commander, Mekpe Joseph, was the head of the Navy in the yard. He ordered some officers to search and inspect the inside of the car, his officers returned with the documents of the  already purchased car and nothing more was found. Mr Mekpe was provoked, he started slapping the particular officer that shot at us, asking them, tell me their offence?”

    Shoaga stated further: “From there, we were taken again to gendarmerie nationale de lome, where Col. Awdi was the Head.  He directed that we should be taken to Tokoin Hospital after hearing the whole story. We were in Tokoin hospital for about four  hours without anyone attending to us.  Later they asked us if we can pay for our services for now.  I had 140,000 CFA on me, they helped me to bring it out from my pocket all soaked in my own blood. They have to wash the blood on the money.

    “Treatment started immediately.  The next day the case was reported to the Nigerian Embassy in Togo, Then H.E Bayo Yusif and Ganiyu Adeyemi were the Ambassadors in Togo.  They quickly called the attention of the then Togolese Defence Minister, late Gen. Hassan Tidjani, to our plight.  He (Tidjani) set up a panel of inquiry on July 5 2004 and after the investigations, the military was found guilty”. 

    It was said that the then president, Papa Gnassingbe Eyadema paid for all the treatment of the two Nigerians. He even recommended they should be flown to France so that the bullet and the temporary iron fixed in the leg of Segun koulonou Leopard to support the bone can be removed because according to the doctor, the iron fixed inside the leg at Tokoin hospital has to be removed within a period of one year alongside the bullet, starting from September 9, 2000.

    Unfortunately, all monies approved by ‘Baba Gnass’, as Togolese students popularly called President Eyademo, disappeared within the Togolese Defence Ministry.  GTA, the official insurer of Force Armee Togolaise (FAT) paid CFA 125 million to each of the two Nigerians making CFA 250 million all together. But FAT refused to pay the victims.

    23 years later, the victims still carry their wounds. Shoaga is carrying a limp while Leopard, frustrated, went back to his village in the Republic of Benin where he  made a living as a vulcanizer.

    All efforts to get the Togolese Defence Ministry to pay the victims damages ordered by the Tribunal has proved abortive. At one point, Human Rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) intervened by writing a petition to the Togolese Ambassador to Nigeria, H.E Lené Dimban, urging him to prevail on his government to honour the award of its own tribunal.

    In the letter dated November 17, 2017, and signed by Sola Egbeyinka, a lawyer at Falana’s chambers, the human rights activist and lawyer put the issue in the right context thus:

    “Upon receiving the complaint of our clients at the Nigerian Embassy in Togo, the police had to conduct an investigation into the complaints. At the conclusion of the investigations, the Togolese government inaugurated a commission of inquiry on May 27, 2003. The commission of inquiry having painstakingly deliberated on the incident of September 8, 2000 in respect it the complaint of our clients, came up with a report that our clients are responsible individuals and as such, indicted the Togolese Marine Military officers pay for their brutal act which occasioned fatal injuries on our clients. The commission absolved our clients of any criminal act and awarded the sum of CFA 250  million in favour of our clients from GTA.

    Read Also: I’m a pure Yoruba man from Nigeria, says Ex-Togolese football star Adebayo

    “Following the release of the report, the Togolese Marine Military officers invited our clients for the collection of the sum of money awarded by the Commission of Inquiries. However, to the dismay of our clients, a former Minister of Defence, General Tidjani, Col. O Arajou, the Director of Cabinet office (FAT) and SGC Magnanie.

    “The treasurer offered the sum of CFA five million to our clients as compensation. Our client rejected the sum on the basis that the Commission of Inquiry awarded CFA 250 million in their favour”.

    Falana narrated the harrowing experience of the duo, how they went through surgery in the city of Lome, and how the ‘anatomical structure’ of the victims was destroyed due to the shooting orchestrated by the Marine Military men. He, therefore, urged the Dimban to facilitate the payment of the award. He even threatened a court action against the Togolese government who refused to respond.

    The current Nigerian Ambassador to Togo, H.E Debo Adesina promised to look into the case. Already all vital information concerning the issue has been forwarded to Ambassador Adesina. It is not, however, clear if the remaining short term due to change of government in Nigeria will allow him to take action on it.

    Meanwhile the duo continue to appeal to the Togolese government to honour the award of its own tribunal.

    Shoaga in an emotion-laden voice said: “I ‘’Iam pleading and begging our president and his  smart team as we call him, to please help us before my second, Segun Koulonou Leopold dies. He has been carrying a bullet and iron in his body for 23 years now, while doctors recommend a year, Togo defence ministry refused to remit the money to us.  In Togo, I know Faure, I know his papa, and they don’t like nonsense at all. I want president Tinubu and Faure to hear our cry, tell him that his papa paid for our treatment but people in the defence ministry shared our money.”

  • Togolese ‘rapes’ teenagers in Lagos

    The police in Lagos have arrested a Togolese, Dominic Samson, 31, for alleged sexual assaults on six underage girls.

    It was gathered that the suspect was nabbed on October 8, after a victim’s father reported at Ejigbo Police Station, Lagos.

    According to the police, Samson, a resident of 28, Olusesan Street, Ejigbo defiled the man’s 15-year-old daughter. The victim named others abused by the suspect.

    Police spokesman Chike Oti said the victim named others who had been raped by Samson, adding that they were aged 13 to 15.

    He said: “The victims, except the sixth one, have been identified, interrogated and their statements recorded. The girls revealed that the suspect sometimes bring all of them together in one room for an orgy and thereafter give them N50 each.

    “The victims have been taken to Mirabel Centre where the doctor’s report confirmed that they were defiled.

    “Police Commissioner Imohimi Edgal advises parents to monitor their children’s activities, to prevent sexual abuse, which is on the rise in the society.”

  • Togolese held for ‘extorting’ money from pedestrians

    A 35-year-old Togolese, Omoakin Friday Kojo popularly known as Fryo, has been arrested by the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit (Task Force) for the impersonation and extortion of money people. He was said to have used a fake Lagos Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC) identity card to carry out the act.

    The task force Chairman, Olayinka Egbeyemi, a Superintendent of Police (SP), in a statement said the suspect, was arrested on Friday in Ikeja following  complaint about his alleged illegal activities.

    Egbeyemi said preliminary investigation showed that the suspect and his cohorts had been involved in the alleged illegal act for long. They, it was alleged, usually arrested pedestrians, who crossed express roads.

    Egbeyemi warned the public to be wary of touts going around impersonating law enforcement officers.

    Lagos State Commissioner of Police Imohimi Edgal, he said, has directed that the suspect be charged to court.

    The agency enjoined the public to stop crossing the highways and use the pedestrian bridges for their safety.

    Kojo, Egbeyemi said, had confessed to -illegally arresting pedestrians and extorting money from them with his fake identity card in the last six years.

    Egbeyemi said: “He confessed further that they were four as a group and that their routine operations cut across Ikeja, Berger, Oshodi, Ojota, Ojodu and Mile 2.

    “Kojo said he made an average of N8,000 to N10,000 per day from arrested pedestrians who preferred not to be prosecuted in court. He added that he makes more money in the morning when people are rushing to work and also in the evening when they are going back home as they rushed crossing express roads defying the pedestrian bridges. The suspect who claimed to be using his old Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) identity card to defraud his victims, however, appealed to government to temper justice with mercy, that he is ready to be of good character and go back to his country if pardoned.”

     

     

  • Lagos rescues 7 women, 3 babies from Togolese birth attendant

    Lagos rescues 7 women, 3 babies from Togolese birth attendant

    Following the expiration of the two week  ultimatum  given to operators of illegal homes and orphanages in Lagos State, the enforcement team of the State Ministry  of Youth and Social Development yesterday  arrested a woman allegedly harbouring pregnant women illegally under the  guise of operating a traditional birth  maternity.

    Officials of the ministry, escorted by 20  policemen from the Ajah Police Station and Area ‘J’  police Command, stormed the area at Baboon Village, Ajele.

    Youth and Social  Development, Commissioner  Agboola Dabiri said the suspect  was arrested alongside a pregnant woman, three  babies and six  other women.

    She  denied operating a home where children are  sold. Dabiri said the ministry was tipped off  that the suspect “keeps  young girls and ladies for the purpose of producing babies who would be sold out.”

    He added:”With the help of the police, we were able  to apprehend the owner of the place identified as Bankole Regina, six other middle-aged women and three babies who were  also rescued.

    “Two of the babies rescued were discovered to  be critically ill.In fact one of the babies is at the point of death.

    “As we speak, we have taken over the babies in one  of our homes.The sick ones are being attended to in the hospital while the adults have been handed over to the  police for further interrogation and likely  prosecution.

    “Illegal homes pose  a great risk to our state.They breed prostitution and  transmission of different diseases among others.”

    The suspect said she had been operating the traditional birth maternity for over  30 years. She claimed  that the babies rescued from her were  abandoned by their mothers after delivery under the pretence of going home to take their delivery kits.

    Bankole also said she registered with the Eti-Osa  Local Government as a traditional birth attendant and that she was about preparing to take a course in traditional  birth attendance .

    She said one of the three babies recovered from  her place was her child and that the other two belonged to  someone else kept in her custody.

     

  • Togolese, one other killed in Oworonshoki crisis

    A Togolese and another person were yesterday killed when rampaging cultists clashed at Oworonshoki, Lagos. No fewer than 20 others were said to have sustained varying injuries in the crisis that occurred at Awanotu junction around 10pm. The Togolese, said to have visited his brother who lived in the neighbourhood, was beheaded with one of his hands cut. The other victim was allegedly hit by stray bullet when the miscreants shot sporadically.

    It was gathered that the hoodlums seized the opportunity to rob residents who were eating noodles at a roadside snack shop. According to residents, the hoodlums’ hideout is at the ferry area and they usually plan their attacks from there, urging government to demolish shanties in the area. A resident said: ‘’The Togolese boy that was killed is not a member of any cult group.

    We do not know why they killed him.’’ Another resident, Mope said the foreigner came to stay with his brother in order to get a job, adding that he was at a fast food shop because his brother wasn’t home yet. She said: “His brother was not around. So, he went to the shop to buy and eat noodles. Police came after the cultists have carried out their plots. The police and the criminals engaged in gun battle.”

  • Immigration nabs 35 illegal migrants

    In a bid to rid Lagos State of illegal migrants, the Lagos State Command of the Nigerian Immigration Service have apprehended and repatriated 35 immigrants found to be without any form of documentation and living in the Lekki axis of the state.

    The arrests were made following a tip off of some of the residents.

    Among those arrested were four Ghanaians; nine Beninoise; three Togolese and 19 Nigeriennes.   

    Comptroller General of the Command, Mrs. Clara Okojie noted that though ECOWAS protocol allows citizens of member states to move freely among nations, those who desire to stay in Nigeria more than 90 days are meant to register at its Divisional Offices in Local Government of residence.

    Those caught had no form of documentation and were thus sent back to their origin country.

    She called on the public to ensure that such ECOWAS nationals, upon employment must show proper documentation before being offered employment.

  • Togolese abducts one month-old baby in Lagos

    A yet-to-be-identified Togolese woman has reportedly fled with a month-old baby identified as Mustapha Ibrahim.

    The incident occurred at 14, Ago Street, Okokomaiko in Ojo, a Lagos district on February 20, at about 3pm.

    It was gathered that the woman who was brought to the compound by another Togolese identified as Sekinat, was introduced to the baby’s parents as Sekinat’s elder sister,
    but the said Sekinat who it was learnt had lived in the compound with Mr. and Mrs. Ganiyu Ibrahim, the parents of the kidnapped baby, denied knowing the suspect before policemen.

    She was said to have told detectives that she met the woman at Trade Fair International Market on Febraury 19, and assisted her because she needed a place to sleep, but while Mustapha’s mother was having her bath, the suspect carried the sleeping baby and fled.

    It was learnt that efforts to locate the suspect and the baby in Lagos have not been successful,  such that the police have notified the Interpol on the issue.

    Recounting her ordeal, Mrs. Ibrahim said: “Before the incident, Sekinat whom we call aunty, brought the lady and introduced her to us as her elder sister. I allowed her to play with my baby. A few minutes later, she handed my son to me and left.

    “The following day, Sekinat left around 7am for Alaba International Market, where she runs a food canteen. She left her elder sister at home with the baby. When I discovered the suspect was still in Sekinat’s room, I didn’t entertain any fear due to the earlier introduction made by Sekinat.

    “Around 3pm, my son fell asleep. I decided to quickly bath. When I returned to my room, I discovered that my baby was not where I left him.

    “Immediately, I raised alarm. My neighbours informed me that they saw a lady with a baby. They didn’t stop her because they thought the baby was her son. All effort to trace her proved abortive.”

    When contacted, the state command’s spokesperson, Dolapo Badmos, a Superintendent of Police said the case has been transferred to the Gender Desk Unit of the command.

    She stated that efforts were in top gear to track the suspect and recover the child, adding that the Interpol department of the police force has been involved.

    Badmos assured that the child will soon be reunited with his parents, just as she warned parents to stop entrusting strangers with their wards.

  • Nigeria sends Togolese asylum seekers back home

    Nigeria sends Togolese asylum seekers back home

    Nigeria has deported the 119 Togolese asylum seekers who have been refugees their whole lives, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNRA) said yesterday.

    The group of Togolese came to Nigeria in July after Benin Republic, which had hosted them for nearly a decade, stripped them of refugee status.

    Sogbo Maonou, who was among those deported, said Nigerian soldiers  loaded them onto buses in Lagos on Saturday and drove them to Togo through Benin Republic.

    Brigitte Eno, deputy representative for the U.N. Refugee agency in Nigeria, said the group should have been counselled before being repatriated.

    “They were supposed to be informed individually and counselled but immigration did it their own way,” Eno said adding:  “We were not even aware of the fact they were being put on buses.”

    General Manager of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency Michael Akindele, said due process was followed, they were all interviewed but their requests for asylum were rejected.

    Many of the Togolese asylum seekers claim they face repression at home, having fled political violence after the 2005 election.

    Some said they witnessed family members being arrested and killed by the military because of their support for the opposition.

    Amnesty International reported in February that Togo sometimes tortures detainees. Togo’s President Faure Gnassingbe was reelected in April after succeeding his father in the 2005 elections marred by violence and rigging to perpetuate a family dynasty that has ruled for nearly 50 years.

    The asylum seekers were spotted on Awolowo Road in Lagos in August, close to the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internally Displaced Person, NCFRMI, office.

    The refugees were registered by NCFRMI officials.

    But the Lagos State Government which provided them with temporary shelter, urged the Federal Government to prevail on its agencies to repatriate back to their country the  illegal immigrants who took refuge at the state’s Emergency Resettlement Centres (ERCs) in Igando, Alimosho Local Government area and Agbowa, Ikorodu.

    Secretary to the State Government Mr. Tunji Bello said the government could no longer continue to accommodate the illegal immigrants due to the enormous pressure put on the ERCs at Igando and Agbowa facilities.

    Bello explained after the Togolese nationals were sighted at Awolowo Road, Ikoyi “Immediately Governor Akinwunmi Ambode was informed of their illegal presence,  he promptly directed that the relevant state agency should take up responsibility of accommodating them, initially at the Emergency Relief Camp (ERC) in Igando and later at its camp in Agbowa, Ikorodu,” he said.

    Bello added: “As at today, the number of Togolese illegal immigrants has increased from 114 to 199, putting serious pressure on the limited spaces at the two camps.”

    He pointed out that the Togolese immigrants were expelled from Benin Republic where they had lived for over 10 years.

    “They came to Nigeria, Lagos to be precise, and because of the accommodation provided by the state government at its ERCs, those illegal immigrants at the Igando camp started calling others on telephone in Benin Republic to come to Nigeria, telling them that they now have a new home. As at the Weekend, another 85 illegal immigrants of same Togolese descent were taken to ERC, Agbowa.

    “The state has discovered that many of them smuggle their ways through the Nigeria borders,” he said.