The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has received 231 Nigerian victims of human trafficking rescued by Ghanaian authorities.
PLATFORM TIMES reports that the rescue operation has been described as one of the largest anti-human trafficking operations in the West African sub-region.
The victims, comprising 227 males and four females, aged between 15 and 18, were brought back to Nigeria on Thursday and received at NAPTIP’s Lagos Command office in Ikeja.
A statement by Chief Press Officer, NAPTIP, Vincent Adekoye read that the rescue operation was executed by Ghana’s Economic and Organized Crimes Office (EOCO) in collaboration with NAPTIP.
Director-General of NAPTIP, Binta Adamu Bello, OON, who was represented by the Lagos State Commander, Mrs Comfort Agboko, described the development as alarming and called for urgent regional collaboration to dismantle emerging human trafficking and cybercrime networks operating across West Africa.
“This latest development is deeply disturbing. Ghana and other neighbouring countries are gradually becoming epicentres of trafficking and cyber exploitation,” Bello said.
“We are restrategising with our law enforcement counterparts in Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Gambia and others to dismantle these organised criminal syndicates.”
According to a letter from EOCO to NAPTIP, titled “Request for Assistance to Screen Suspects of Human Trafficking for Possible Prosecution in Nigeria,” Ghanaian authorities uncovered the victims in Kumsark Estate, Oyarifa, a suburb of Accra.
During a search operation on April 17, 2025, EOCO searched 20 houses and found that approximately 30 of the 50 houses in the estate were occupied by suspected traffickers and their victims.
The victims, mostly young men, were allegedly trafficked from Nigeria to Ghana under false pretences, with many forced into cybercrime activities, while others were subjected to sexual exploitation.
Bello said NAPTIP had already begun discussions to review existing bilateral agreements, Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs), and other legal frameworks to strengthen inter-agency cooperation and cross-border enforcement.
“As part of the next steps, we will begin profiling these returnees to assess their medical needs, psychological state, skills, and other basic data for effective rehabilitation and reintegration,” she said.
She noted that the operation was likely a spillover effect of NAPTIP’s intensified operations against traffickers within Nigeria, led by its Cybercrime Response Team, which recently led to several arrests and disruption of criminal networks.
“Some of these syndicates have simply shifted base to Ghana. But we will not relent. With the support of EOCO, immigration services, and other regional stakeholders, we will smoke them out,” Bello vowed.
She further assured that those identified as traffickers among the returnees would face thorough investigations and, where necessary, prosecution under the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2003 (amended in 2015).
Bello also commended EOCO, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), the Nigeria Immigration Service, the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and other partners for their collaboration.
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