Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) have issued a fresh and urgent warning to Nigerian youths, particularly graduates and skilled professionals, about the growing use of fake online job offers by criminal syndicates to recruit victims into cyber-enabled fraud operations and forced labour networks across the world. The warning comes as Nigeria joins the global community to mark the 2026 World Day Against Trafficking in Persons on July 30 under the theme “Trapped Behind the Scam,” with stakeholders expressing mounting concern over the rapid evolution of human trafficking into a technology-driven crime that exploits the desperation of young job seekers.
Addressing journalists at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, NAPTIP Director-General, Binta Adamu Bello, disclosed that criminal syndicates have shifted from traditional forms of exploitation to sophisticated online recruitment methods, targeting educated and tech-savvy Nigerians with promises of lucrative jobs in information technology, digital marketing, customer service, telecommunications, and cryptocurrency trading. “Human trafficking has undergone a dangerous transformation, moving beyond the familiar patterns of sexual exploitation, forced labour, and domestic servitude, into organised cybercrime powered by social media, encrypted messaging applications, cryptocurrency, and artificial intelligence,” Bello said.
According to the NAPTIP chief, victims are lured with attractive employment offers abroad, only to discover upon arrival that the advertised jobs do not exist. “Instead, their passports are confiscated, their freedom is restricted, and they are forced under threats, intimidation, violence, debt bondage or psychological coercion to perpetrate sophisticated online scams targeting unsuspecting victims across the world,” she stated. The victims, she added, “become prisoners trapped behind computer screens, trapped behind false promises, trapped behind organised criminal networks, and trapped behind fear.”
Bello revealed that large criminal operations, commonly referred to as “fraud factories” or “scam hubs,” have proliferated across Southeast Asia, particularly in Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand, and Laos, where trafficked persons are forced to execute romance scams, cryptocurrency fraud, and fake investment schemes under brutal conditions. Victims who fail to meet financial targets, she said, are subjected to torture, rape, solitary confinement, and, in some cases, organ harvesting. More than 300,000 people are trafficked into scam compounds across Southeast Asia every year, generating an estimated $64 billion in illicit revenue for criminal syndicates. Bello warned that similar criminal operations are beginning to emerge in Nigeria and other African countries, where traffickers exploit social media platforms and online recruitment portals to deceive young people desperate for employment.
The NAPTIP boss disclosed that the agency rescued and repatriated over 300 victims of this emerging form of trafficking from neighbouring countries, including Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, in 2025, while another 156 victims had been rescued since January 2026 through coordinated operations with international partners. She also revealed that NAPTIP’s Cyber Response Team had dismantled several emerging scam centres across Nigeria where young people were allegedly being trained for cybercrime under names such as “Yahoo Plus,” “Yahoo Extra” and “Hustle Kingdom.” Those arrested are currently facing prosecution, she added.
The Federal Government has also weighed in on the crisis. In a statement issued recently and signed by acting spokesperson Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned Nigerians against the growing threat of cyber slavery within the West African sub-region. The government noted with grave concern that many young Nigerians, including underage teenagers, are being lured out of the country under the false promise of lucrative employment opportunities abroad, particularly in crypto-related operations. “In reality, these individuals are trafficked into sophisticated scam operations and enslaved to work in criminal ‘call centres’ — often referred to as ‘419 cyber-scam factories.’ There, they are forced under coercive and inhumane conditions to send thousands of fraudulent emails, text messages, and calls aimed at defrauding victims worldwide,” the statement read.
The government cited a recent incident where the Economic and Organised Crimes Office (EOCO) in Accra, Ghana, rescued and detained a group of Nigerians forced to engage in cybercrime activities under inhumane conditions. “This incident highlights the severe exploitation and abuse associated with cybercrime operations. It also underscores the need for enhanced efforts to combat such multibillion-dollar criminal networks and mitigate the susceptibility of victims,” the ministry said.
Stakeholders have also raised concerns about the presence of trafficking networks within Nigerian universities and across digital platforms. Speaking at the commemoration of the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons in Abuja, the Executive Director of Blue North Initiative for the Protection of Human Trafficking, Calistus Ekena, said traffickers have evolved from traditional recruitment methods to sophisticated online operations, making young Nigerians more vulnerable to exploitation. “For many young Nigerians, the desire for a better future is legitimate. Unfortunately, traffickers exploit that hope. They prey on ambition, desperation, trust and limited access to verified information,” he said.
Country Director of Blue North Initiative, Boma West, added that the digital space has become one of the primary recruitment grounds for traffickers, with social media platforms, messaging applications, fake recruitment websites, and fraudulent travel agencies increasingly being used to deceive unsuspecting individuals. She identified youth unemployment, poverty, irregular migration, digital illiteracy, insecurity, and the growing desire to seek opportunities abroad as major factors making Nigerians susceptible to trafficking.
The warnings come amid a deepening economic crisis in Nigeria, where unemployment and underemployment have pushed millions of young people to seek opportunities abroad, often through unverified channels. The International Organization for Migration has reported a resurgence of the West African-Atlantic trafficking route towards Europe since 2023, with Nigerian women and girls particularly vulnerable to sex trafficking. According to the UN, Nigeria leads the continent in human trafficking, with 83 per cent of victims being women and girls, and experts say the actual numbers may be much higher as statistics rely on testimonies from those who escape and dare to speak about their harrowing experiences.
NAPTIP and UNODC have urged governments to complement aggressive law enforcement with sustained investments in job creation, skills acquisition, and economic opportunities to address the root causes of trafficking. The Federal Government has advised Nigerians to verify all employment offers through official channels and report suspicious cases to relevant authorities. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has assured the public that it is working closely with regional partners, law enforcement agencies, and international organisations to tackle the crime, rescue victims, and bring perpetrators to justice.
For the thousands of young Nigerians who continue to fall prey to these schemes, the warning from NAPTIP, UNODC, and the Federal Government is a stark reminder that the promise of a better life abroad can often be a trap. As one victim, a 16-year-old girl who was trafficked to Mali with false promises of a job at a mobile phone shop, told AFP: “They said, ‘There is no boutique or phone plaza, it’s ashawo’” — using the local Pidgin term for sex work. Her story, like that of countless others, underscores the urgent need for vigilance, verification, and a collective effort to dismantle the networks that prey on the dreams of Nigeria’s youth.
📩 Stone Reporters News | 🌍 stonereportersnews.com
✉️ info@stonereportersnews.com | 📘 Facebook: Stone Reporters News | 🐦 X (Twitter): @StoneReportNew | 📸 Instagram: @stonereportersnews
Add comment
Comments