In two different incidences of international human trafficking in the state, the Ondo State Police Command has arrested six perpetrators and saved 14 victims.
In a statement released today, DSP Abayomi Jimoh, the command’s spokeswoman, said this.
The statement says that on January 22, 2026, a Togolese man named Meale Yaoili went to the Yaba Police Station in Ondo City and said that he had been tricked into coming to Nigeria from Togo by someone who promised him a job in Canada.
Police said that Yaoili told them he was tricked by Tchodia Potolaw Fidel, who is now on the run and said he lived in Canada.
He said that when he got to Nigeria in 2019, his personal things were taken from him by force and he was kept against his will after paying 800,000 CFA francs.
According to DSP Jimoh, the police quickly detained six people who were involved in the crime and saved three victims.
“After quick and coordinated action by the command’s agents, six people were arrested in connection with the case. The suspects were Cleude Grao, Samuel Dsiwa, Michael Amissa, Olayiwola Kazeem, Akinubi Adebayo, and Oluwole Vincent, who was the landlord of the place where the illicit activity took place. He claimed, “Three victims were successfully rescued during the operation.”
The police spokesperson also talked about something else that happened in Oba-Ile, which is in the Akure North Local Government Area of the state.
On January 23, 2026, Chief Ojomu of Oba-Ile filed a lawsuit at the Oba-Ile Divisional Headquarters against Umaru Baba and 11 others. At first, the case was thought to be about banditry. Jimoh said, “The case was then sent to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for a quiet investigation.”
He said that early investigations showed that the individuals were not bandits, as claimed, but illegal immigrants from Chad.
More research showed that Umaru Baba, the main suspect, is said to work for a company that sells a variety of things online.
It came out that he reportedly persuaded, hired, and housed 11 able-bodied men and one woman, all Chadians who were thought to be illegal migrants, and brought them across the border into Cameroon under the pretense of hiring them as commission-based marketers.
In the meantime, the owner of the house where the victims were kept, a woman who lives in Ibadan, is being tracked down so that she can be questioned about her alleged irresponsibility in letting her property be used for illegal operations.
DSP Jimoh said that the people who are being investigated in both cases have given important information. He also noted that the search is still on for suspects who are on the run.
He said that the victims who were saved would be sent to their own embassies for diplomatic action and to be sent back home.
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