The Director General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Binta Adamu Bello, has pledged to strengthen collaboration with regional partners to dismantle human trafficking syndicates operating along the West African corridor.
Bello made the commitment in Lagos while receiving over 200 Nigerian victims of human trafficking rescued by Ghanaian authorities through its Economic and Organized Crimes Office (EOCO), in partnership with NAPTIP, at the agency’s Lagos Command Office, Ikeja.
The repatriation follows a request from EOCO to NAPTIP for assistance in screening suspects for possible prosecution in Nigeria. In a letter signed by EOCO Executive Director Abdulai Bashiru Dapilah, Ghanaian authorities revealed that a syndicate, largely made up of Nigerians, had been operating in Oyarifa, a suburb of Accra.
According to EOCO, a raid on April 17, 2025, at the Kumsark Estate in Oyarifa uncovered 231 Nigerian nationals, comprising 227 males and four females aged between 15 and 18 years. Many of the victims were reportedly forced into human trafficking, cybercrime, and related illicit activities.
Represented by the Lagos State Commander of NAPTIP, Mrs. Comfort Agboko, Bello said while many of the victims were trafficked for sexual exploitation, others were deceived and recruited into cybercrime operations in Ghana.
“We are seriously disturbed by this emerging trend, which is turning Ghana and neighboring countries into hubs for trafficking and cybercrime,” Bello said. “We have begun discussions with law enforcement agencies in Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Gambia, and other African countries to restrategize and dismantle these organized criminal networks.”
She noted that part of the agency’s response would include reviewing existing Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs), bilateral agreements, and legal frameworks to ensure coordinated action across borders.
Bello added that profiling of the returnees would soon commence to assess their medical needs, health status, skills, and other support requirements, aimed at providing victim care and post-trauma services.
She attributed the syndicates’ migration to Ghana to NAPTIP’s intensified crackdown on trafficking and cybercrime networks within Nigeria through its Cybercrime Response Team, which has led to several arrests in recent months.
“This displacement to Ghana is a reaction to our sustained onslaught in Nigeria. However, with the support of EOCO and Immigration Services, we will continue to pursue them and ensure they are brought to justice,” she said.
Bello assured that suspects identified among the returnees would be thoroughly investigated and prosecuted under Nigeria’s Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2003 (amended in 2015).
She expressed appreciation to EOCO, the Nigerian Immigration Service, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and other partners for their support, emphasizing that those involved in trafficking would face the full weight of the law.
Nzubechukwu Eze.
