MALAYSIAN immigration authorities have arrested 59 foreign nationals during raids on eight business premises in Selangor, a day after a Nigerian man reportedly attacked a police officer with two machetes, severing the officer’s right hand before he was shot dead.
The Immigration Department said the arrests followed two weeks of intelligence gathering and complaints that some foreigners were using business premises as accommodation and hiding places to evade detection.
The operation, which began at 1pm on Thursday, November 12, involved 17 immigration enforcement officers.
According to the department’s Director-General, Datuk Zakaria Shaaban, 152 people were screened during the operation, comprising 75 Malaysians and 77 foreign nationals.
Of the foreigners screened, 59, comprising 53 men and six women, were arrested over suspected immigration offences.
The offences included failure to possess valid travel documents, overstaying and misuse of immigration passes.
The immigration authorities said the arrested foreigners had been transferred to detention depots for further investigation under Malaysia’s Immigration Act 1959/63 and Immigration Regulations 1963.
The department did not disclose the nationalities of those arrested.
The operation came a day after a Nigerian man allegedly attacked Malaysian police officers and other emergency responders with two machetes in Desa Aman Puri, Kepong, on Wednesday, November 11.
According to Malaysian news agency Bernama, the incident occurred after police received a report around 4pm about a man behaving aggressively at a residential property.
When police officers, firefighters and health personnel arrived and attempted to assess the situation, the suspect allegedly attacked them with two machetes.
A 26-year-old police lance corporal attached to the Gombak District Police Headquarters’ Mobile Patrol Vehicle unit suffered a severed right wrist and injuries to his head and body.
Several firefighters and health personnel also sustained minor injuries.
The suspect fled the scene but was later located at a nearby playground between 7pm and 8pm.
Police said he attacked officers again with a machete when they attempted to arrest him, prompting them to fire several shots.
He was subsequently taken to hospital but died from his injuries.
Malaysian media later identified the suspect as a Nigerian national.
The injured police officer was transferred to Kuala Lumpur Hospital, where surgeons successfully reattached his severed hand following a seven-hour operation.
On Friday, November 13, Selangor Police Chief Datuk Shazeli Kahar said an acquaintance of the suspect had previously lodged a report indicating that he was believed to have a mental disorder.
53 Nigerians arrested between January and October
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s Immigration Department has disclosed that 53 Nigerians were among 112 African nationals arrested for immigration offences between January and October 2026.
The figures were disclosed by Immigration Director-General Zakaria Shaaban in an interview with Malaysian newspaper Utusan Malaysia, published on Friday, November 13, 2026.
According to the report, Nigerians recorded the highest number of arrests among African nationals during the period, followed by Uganda with 13, Kenya with 10 and Ghana with eight.
Other nationals arrested included six Somalis, six Tanzanians, four Senegalese, three Algerians, two Burkinabes, two Togolese and two Gambians, while Guinea, Zimbabwe and Libya recorded one arrest each.
Shaaban said the most common offence was entering or remaining in Malaysia without a valid pass or permit, contrary to Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M