The Ghanaian government has transferred 231 Nigerians, rescued from a suspected human trafficking and cybercrime operation, to Nigerian authorities.
During a handover event in Lagos on Friday, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), confirmed that the victims—primarily young men and women—were lured to Ghana under false pretenses and exploited for cyber fraud.Dabiri-Erewa stressed the importance of state governments providing support to their returning citizens.
The largest group among these individuals hails from Edo State, numbering 76. Others include residents from Anambra (6), Delta (17), Bayelsa (13), Imo (19), Enugu (12), Ebonyi (8), Cross River (7), Abia (9), Niger (4), Akwa Ibom (3), Kogi (6), Ondo (1), and Osun (1). We urge the state governors to collaborate with NAPTIP to assist these victims, emphasizing that 12 of them are minors.
She called for heightened awareness, stricter law enforcement, and increased regional cooperation, highlighting that traffickers were exploiting the ECOWAS protocol on free movement.”We need to identify and expose these traffickers.
They are despicable individuals. Many of these young people would have avoided this fate had they known the true nature of what awaited them. We require extensive awareness campaigns, and the media has a vital role in disseminating this message,” she urged.Comfort Agboko, Zonal Coordinator for the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking Persons (NAPTIP) in Lagos, stated that some of the rescued individuals had been trafficked and forced into internet fraud.
The EFCC has been notified, and suspects will be handed over following an internal investigation. She also mentioned that the agency will provide immediate medical care and ensure rehabilitation through profiling and reintegration processes.Dominic Mensah, a staff officer with Ghana’s Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), reported that an informant revealed that a segment of an estate with around 50 houses was being utilized by suspected Nigerian traffickers for cyber fraud.
Surveillance confirmed that 26 houses were implicated.
We initiated a simultaneous raid operation, dubbed Operation Rescue Shield, targeting all 26 houses at 3:30 a.m. with assistance from the Ghana Police Service and National Security. We apprehended 233 individuals, screened them, and identified the victims and perpetrators, releasing those not associated with the crimes,” he explained.Mensah revealed that some victims had endured captivity for as long as five years, while others had arrived just days prior to the raid. He added that the suspected leaders, referred to as “chairmen,” operate from Nigeria and employ local agents in Ghana to manage the trafficked persons.
The arrested suspects were acting on behalf of these chairmen, ensuring that new recruits could not escape and facilitating illicit activities.
The owner of the estate is also under investigation for providing support to the trafficking syndicate,” he concluded.
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