By Emmanuel Onyedika
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has raised alarm over the growing use of digital platforms, fake job offers, and online scams to recruit and exploit trafficking victims.
Speaking at a news conference in Abuja on Wednesday ahead of the 2026 World Day Against Trafficking in Persons (July 30), Director-General Hajiya Binta Adamu-Bello said traffickers were increasingly exploiting social media, encrypted communication channels, and fraudulent overseas employment opportunities to lure vulnerable individuals.
Adamu-Bello revealed that NAPTIP rescued more than 300 victims linked to cyber-enabled trafficking from neighbouring countries, including Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, in 2025, and another 156 victims between January and July 2026. She added that the agency had dismantled suspected scam centres and secured 839 convictions since its establishment, including 47 convictions in 2026.
She urged Nigerians to verify overseas job offers, avoid unofficial recruitment channels, and report suspicious activities, stressing: “Traffickers are increasingly exploiting technology to deceive and trap victims. Stronger collaboration among governments, partners, the media, and communities is needed to address these evolving trends.”
Also speaking, Isabelle Wolfgruber, Head of the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) in Nigeria, warned that criminal networks were becoming more sophisticated in exploiting digital platforms. She highlighted the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons (PITOP) Strategy and Action Plan as a tool to strengthen NAPTIP’s interventions and improve state-level responses.
The First Secretary for Migration at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Nigeria, Sib Siebesma, emphasised that stakeholder collaboration remained critical, noting that the Netherlands supports programmes in Nigeria focused on victim protection, prosecution capacity, awareness creation, and safe migration. He cited the Trafficking in Persons and Violence Against Persons (TIPVAP) project, implemented by ICMPD, as one initiative supporting victim care and awareness campaigns.
The UNODC Country Representative in Nigeria, Cheikh Toure, added that combating trafficking requires more than law enforcement, stressing the importance of prevention, protection, and victim reintegration.