Police in Kano, on Tuesday, said they rescued over 600 labourers compelled to stay for three months in a rice mill, Popular Farm Rice, in the Challawa Industrial Area of the state.
Some policemen had on Monday stormed the factory after obtaining a court order.
The police arrested four managers and released the detained workers.
The workers were allegedly held in the company’s premises by its Indian owners out of fear of bringing in coronavirus.
The workers were initially asked to stay back at work for two weeks without going to their respective homes after which they were asked to stay for another two weeks only to end up spending over three months without seeing their families and not properly fed.
State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abdullahi Haruna, confirmed the incident.
Haruna, who also confirmed that four management staff of the mill had been arrested, added that investigation had been launched into the allegations against the firm.
“We found many workers locked up and enslaved in the factory. The Commissioner of Police, Habu Sani, has ordered a thorough investigation into the matter,” he said.