NAPTIP Receives 231 Human Trafficking Victims From Ghana

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) received 231 Nigerians repatriated from Ghana, including 27 people suspected of being traffickers.

The returnees, transferred to NAPTIP and the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) by the Ghanaian Government via the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), arrived in Nigeria after a major operation targeting a human trafficking and cybercrime syndicate based in a gated estate in Ghana.

Among those received on Thursday evening, April 24, four women were suspected to be trafficking victims, while the others were young Nigerian men, some of whom had allegedly been held captive for years, reportedly forced into cyber fraud by the syndicate.

During the handover event at NAPTIP’s office in Ikeja, EOCO official Dominic Mensah stated that the operation, named “Operation Rescue Shield,” was initiated following a tip about illegal activities in 26 houses within one estate in Ghana.

According to Dominic Meza, a Staff Officer in EOCO’s Anti-Human Trafficking Unit, “We received a complaint on March 28th from an informant alleging that a group of Nigerians were using young people for cybercrime. Surveillance was carried out, and we launched the operation at 3:30 a.m. one week ago with support from national security and police services. A total of 233 persons were initially arrested.”

Meza further noted that the victims had been deceived into coming to Ghana with promises of employment but were instead trapped and coerced into cybercrime. Many had been held in the facility for periods ranging from a few weeks to several years.

A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.

Nnamdi Okoli