Nigerians have been cautioned to thoroughly verify overseas job offers as authorities intensify efforts to curb a growing trafficking scheme that traps victims in forced cyber-fraud operations across parts of Southeast Asia, ENigeria Newspaper reports.
At a survivor-focused forum in Abuja yesterday and themed “Confronting the Global Scam Centre Crisis: Perspectives of Nigerian Survivors,” the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), working alongside the British High Commission, stressed that fraudulent recruiters are increasingly targeting unsuspecting job seekers. The agencies warned that legitimate employers do not hire through social media channels, request upfront payments, or ask recruits to travel on tourist visas for employment.
The alert follows a recent trafficking case involving Nigerians taken to Thailand. A coordinated rescue mission involving NAPTIP, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Nigerian Embassy in Bangkok, and the British non-governmental organisation EDEN resulted in the safe return of 23 victims. The operation included field coordination along the Thai–Myanmar border and welfare visits to detainees at Bangkok’s Immigration Detention Centre.
According to officials, traffickers promise well-paid jobs abroad but instead transport victims to countries such as Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand, where they are forced to run sophisticated online scams. Survivors at the event described being confined in guarded compounds and compelled to work up to 18 hours daily executing online dating and investment fraud schemes. Many recounted enduring beatings, electric shocks, food deprivation, and severe psychological abuse. One survivor spoke of a fellow captive who died after repeated torture, while another described living in constant fear after what began as an offer of a better life.
British Deputy High Commissioner in Abuja, Gill Lever, said the United Kingdom is collaborating closely with Nigerian authorities to provide trauma-informed support and ensure safe repatriation for victims. She praised survivors for sharing their stories, describing their testimonies as vital in preventing further exploitation. Lever characterised scam-centre operations as an expanding global security threat, 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 euros to scams in 2024, and reaffirmed the UK’s commitment to partnering with Nigeria and other African Commonwealth countries to combat the evolving menace.
Representing NAPTIP’s Director-General, the agency’s Director of Public Enlightenment, Mrs. Kehinde Akomolafe, underscored that exploitation in scam centres constitutes human trafficking regardless of the setting.
“This is trafficking, whether it happens in a factory, a brothel, or behind a computer screen. Survivors are victims, not criminals,” she said, reiterating the agency’s resolve to safeguard Nigerians.
Data presented at the forum and later made available to ENigeria Newspaper further highlighted the scale of the crisis. 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 trapped in forced scam operations in Myanmar alone, with more than 300,000 affected across Southeast Asia. The report states that victims originate from at least 66 countries, and between 2020 and 2025, roughly 74 per cent were lured with promises of high-paying employment before being trafficked.
Participants at the gathering called for enhanced cross-border collaboration, sustained public awareness campaigns, and a shift in public perception to ensure survivors are protected while traffickers are held accountable.
