The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), in collaboration with the British High Commission, has warned Nigerians to be vigilant against fraudulent overseas job offers increasingly used by traffickers to lure victims into forced cybercrime operations.
The warning was issued at a survivor-centred forum themed “Confronting the Global Scam Centre Crisis: Perspectives of Nigerian Survivors”, held in Abuja.
Officials disclosed that traffickers now target unsuspecting Nigerians with promises of lucrative employment abroad, only to transport them to countries such as Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand, where they are coerced into sophisticated online fraud schemes.
According to the agency, legitimate employers do not recruit solely through social media platforms, demand upfront payments, or require prospective employees to travel on tourist visas for work purposes.
The event followed a recent trafficking case involving Nigerians stranded in Thailand. A coordinated rescue mission by NAPTIP, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Nigerian Embassy in Bangkok and British non-governmental organisation, EDEN, secured the safe return of 23 victims.
The operation involved cross-border coordination at the Thai–Myanmar border and welfare visits to detainees at Bangkok’s Immigration Detention Centre.
British Deputy High Commissioner in Abuja, Gill Lever, said the United Kingdom is working closely with Nigerian authorities to ensure survivors receive trauma-informed care and safe repatriation.
“We are here to listen to survivors, who have shown remarkable bravery in sharing their experiences. Their courage will help prevent others from being harmed, and we stand firmly with Nigeria and our African Commonwealth partners in confronting this rapidly evolving threat,” she stated.
Lever described scam centres as a growing global security concern, noting that criminal networks defraud victims of more than 64 billion U.S. dollars annually. She added that British citizens alone lost an estimated €11.4 billion to scams in 2024.
Representing the Director-General of NAPTIP, Director of Public Enlightenment, Mrs. Kehinde Akomolafe, stressed that trafficking into scam centres constitutes modern slavery.
“This is trafficking, whether it happens in a factory, a brothel, or behind a computer screen. Survivors are victims, not criminals,” she said, reaffirming the agency’s commitment to protecting Nigerians.
Survivors at the forum recounted harrowing experiences of confinement in guarded compounds, forced labour of up to 18 hours daily on online dating and investment scams, and severe physical and psychological abuse.
One survivor alleged that victims were beaten, electrocuted and starved, while another narrated the death of a fellow captive following repeated torture.
“I was promised a good job and a better life but instead, I was trapped and forced to live in constant fear,” one victim said.
A 2026 report by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, titled “A Wicked Problem,” estimates that at least 120,000 people are currently held in forced scam operations in Myanmar, with more than 300,000 affected across Southeast Asia.
The report further revealed that victims originate from at least 66 countries and that between 2020 and 2025, approximately 74 per cent were lured with promises of high-paying jobs before being trafficked.
Stakeholders at the event called for strengthened international collaboration, intensified public awareness campaigns and a shift in public perception to ensure survivors are protected while traffickers face justice.
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