The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has sounded a fresh warning over the growing menace of cyber-enabled human trafficking, revealing that more than 300,000 people are trapped annually in transnational scam networks that generate an estimated $64 billion in illicit revenue.
Speaking on Wednesday at a press briefing ahead of the 2026 World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, the Director-General of NAPTIP, Binta Adamu Bello, said human trafficking has evolved beyond sexual exploitation and forced labour into a sophisticated digital crime in which victims are lured abroad with fake employment offers before being forced into cyber fraud operations.
She said this year’s global theme, “Trapped Behind the Scam,” reflects the grim reality of thousands of victims who are recruited through deceptive online job advertisements and eventually held captive in illegal “fraud factories.”
According to Bello, criminal syndicates are increasingly targeting educated young Nigerians with promises of lucrative careers in information technology, digital marketing, customer service, cryptocurrency trading and other digital professions.
She explained that upon arriving in foreign countries, particularly in parts of Southeast Asia, victims discover the promised jobs do not exist. Instead, their travel documents are confiscated, their movements restricted, and they are coerced through threats, violence and psychological abuse into carrying out online scams.
“Victims become prisoners behind computer screens, compelled to perpetrate sophisticated cyber fraud against unsuspecting people across the world while traffickers reap enormous profits,” she said.
Bello identified Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos as major hubs for large-scale scam compounds, warning that similar criminal operations are beginning to emerge in Nigeria and other African countries.
She disclosed that traffickers now rely heavily on social media platforms, encrypted messaging applications, online recruitment portals, cryptocurrency systems and artificial intelligence tools to identify, recruit and control victims.
According to her, the recruitment process is highly organised, beginning with fake online identities and fraudulent job offers, followed by deceptive travel arrangements that ultimately lead victims into forced participation in romance scams, investment fraud and cryptocurrency-related crimes.
The NAPTIP boss revealed that victims who fail to meet criminal targets often face severe abuse, including torture, sexual violence, solitary confinement and other inhumane punishment.
Bello disclosed that NAPTIP repatriated more than 300 victims of cyber-enabled trafficking from neighbouring countries, including Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, in 2025, while another 156 victims have been rescued since January 2026 through collaborations with international partners, including organisations working to free victims trapped in Myanmar.
She also announced that the agency’s Cyber Response Team has dismantled several emerging scam training centres in Nigeria linked to criminal operations popularly known as “Yahoo Plus,” “Yahoo Extra” and “Hustle Kingdom.”
According to her, several suspects involved in financial extortion, sexual extortion and revenge pornography have been arrested and are currently facing prosecution.
Bello warned that cyber-enabled trafficking extends far beyond individual victims, devastating families, draining household savings and damaging Nigeria’s international reputation through irregular migration and organised cybercrime.
Reaffirming NAPTIP’s commitment to dismantling trafficking syndicates, she disclosed that the agency has secured 839 convictions since its establishment, including 47 convictions recorded in 2026 alone.
She added that the agency recently secured the conviction of a notorious trafficker and his wife in Ondo State, with properties worth millions of naira forfeited to the Federal Government.
Bello said NAPTIP would continue to strengthen intelligence-led investigations, expand international cooperation and deploy advanced technology to identify trafficking networks and rescue victims.
Issuing a stern warning to traffickers, she declared that the era of impunity was ending.
“The days when traffickers operated without consequences are rapidly coming to an end. NAPTIP will continue to intensify operations until Nigeria becomes an increasingly hostile environment for every trafficking syndicate,” she said.
She urged young Nigerians to verify overseas employment opportunities through legitimate channels, avoid unofficial recruiters and promptly report suspicious job offers to relevant authorities.
As part of activities marking the 2026 World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP announced nationwide public awareness campaigns, advocacy walks, survivor support initiatives and community engagements aimed at strengthening efforts to prevent human trafficking and protect vulnerable persons.
Bello called on government institutions, civil society organisations, international partners and the public to deepen collaboration in combating trafficking and ensuring that those profiting from human exploitation are brought to justice.
“Together, through vigilance, partnership, compassion and innovation, we can ensure that no one remains trapped behind the scam,” she said.
