FG Launches New Offensive Against Human Trafficking As Criminal Syndicates Move Online

By Bukar BOLORI

The Federal Government has announced a major shift in Nigeria’s fight against human trafficking, declaring that the country must urgently strengthen its laws, institutions and international partnerships as criminal networks increasingly migrate from traditional exploitation methods to sophisticated online recruitment and cyber-enabled forced criminality.

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), said the evolving nature of trafficking requires a comprehensive national response capable of confronting criminals who now exploit digital technology, cross-border networks and online platforms to deceive and control victims.

Fagbemi, represented by the Director of Research, Planning and Statistics in the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mrs Victoria Ojogbane, delivered the message at the national commemoration of the 2026 World Day Against Trafficking in Persons in Abuja, with the theme: “Trapped Behind the Scam.”

He said the Federal Government was determined to strengthen Nigeria’s legal and institutional framework to confront emerging trafficking patterns, particularly those connected with online scams, cybercrime and organised transnational criminal activities.

According to him, traffickers are increasingly using technological advancement to evade detection, recruit victims and move illicit proceeds, making stronger coordination among law enforcement agencies, improved intelligence sharing, effective prosecution and enhanced victim protection critical to Nigeria’s response.

“The changing dynamics of human trafficking require stronger laws, closer inter-agency collaboration and deeper international cooperation to ensure traffickers no longer exploit technological advances and cross-border criminal networks to evade justice,” he said.

The Attorney-General assured that the government would continue to support coordinated intelligence operations, strengthen partnerships with security agencies, development partners and neighbouring countries, and ensure that victims receive adequate protection and support.

He noted that trafficking has moved beyond conventional forms of exploitation, with criminal syndicates now using fake employment opportunities, scholarships, business proposals and migration promises shared through social media and messaging platforms to lure unsuspecting victims.

The Federal Government’s renewed approach comes amid growing concerns over the increasing connection between human trafficking, cybercrime, money laundering and organised criminal enterprises.

Director-General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Binta Bello, said the digital transformation of trafficking represents one of the most serious challenges confronting anti-trafficking agencies globally.

She warned that traffickers are exploiting unemployment, poverty and the desire for better opportunities among young Nigerians, using sophisticated online deception to recruit victims before subjecting them to exploitation.

Bello said the theme, “Trapped Behind the Scam,” reflects the changing reality of trafficking, where victims are often trapped through online manipulation before being forced into cyber fraud, sexual exploitation, forced labour and other forms of modern slavery.

She called for stronger partnerships among government agencies, technology companies, financial institutions, security organisations and civil society groups to dismantle criminal networks.

Delivering the keynote address, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Country Representative, Cheikh Touré, warned that trafficking in persons, cybercrime, money laundering and financial fraud are increasingly merging into a single transnational criminal enterprise.

Touré said victims are deceived through social media platforms and online advertisements offering fake jobs, educational opportunities and migration pathways, only to find themselves trapped in scam compounds where their identity documents are seized, their movement restricted and they are forced to carry out online fraud.

He disclosed that many victims are compelled to operate romance scams, investment fraud schemes and cryptocurrency-related scams targeting people across the world.

According to him, UNODC research across 21 Nigerian states found increasing evidence that traffickers are exploiting digital platforms for recruitment, while survivors identified fraudulent employment and migration opportunities as major tactics used by criminals.

He added that Nigerians are increasingly being trafficked into overseas scam compounds, while similar patterns of forced online criminality are beginning to emerge locally, requiring broader investigations involving anti-trafficking agencies, cybercrime units and financial intelligence institutions.

To strengthen the response, UNODC announced the establishment of a Joint Operational Task Force involving NAPTIP and the Nigeria Immigration Service under the European Union-funded Partnership Against Cybercrime and Trafficking in Persons (PACTS) Project.

The task force will focus on intelligence gathering, preservation of digital evidence, tracing criminal proceeds and improving cross-border investigations against trafficking networks.

The Head of Office of the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) Nigeria, Isabelle Wolfsgruber, said traffickers have changed their methods by moving recruitment from physical locations to digital spaces.

She said many trafficking cases now begin with a message on a phone offering a job, scholarship or migration opportunity that appears genuine but is designed to exploit victims.

“Trafficking today rarely begins at a border. It begins on a phone, with a message from someone who seemed trustworthy about a job that does not exist, a scholarship that was never approved. By the time a young person understands what has happened, they are already webbed inside the deception,” she said.

Wolfsgruber said ICMPD is supporting Nigeria’s response through initiatives including the European Union-funded Free Movement of Persons and Migration in West Africa (FMM II) project, the School Anti-Trafficking Education and Advocacy Project (STEAP) supported by the Netherlands, and the Trafficking in Persons Victim Assistance Programme (TIPVAP) implemented with NAPTIP.

She stressed that no single organisation or country could defeat trafficking alone, noting that criminal networks operate across borders and share tactics rapidly.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) also emphasised the need for a survivor-focused approach, warning that trafficking often begins with promises of hope rather than immediate violence.

The Chief of Mission, IOM Nigeria, Sharon Dimanche, recalled meeting children rescued from trafficking by NAPTIP in Lagos, describing how some had been deceived with promises of education and better lives before being exploited and robbed of their childhood.

“Traffickers do not sell fear; they sell hope,” she said, explaining that fake job offers, education opportunities and promises of economic advancement remain some of the strongest tools used by traffickers.

She highlighted the case of a Nigerian who was lured with what appeared to be a genuine employment opportunity in Southeast Asia but ended up trapped in a cyber scam compound, where his passport was confiscated and he was forced into online fraud under threats and abuse.

According to IOM, the victim was later returned to Nigeria through coordinated efforts involving the government, NAPTIP, IOM and partners, but his experience reflected the increasingly complex nature of modern trafficking.

The organisation disclosed that it has assisted more than 7,700 trafficking victims since 2017, with nearly nine out of every ten victims being women and girls, most of them young adults seeking better economic opportunities.

IOM stressed that rescuing victims is only the beginning, adding that survivors require psychosocial support, education, skills development and sustainable livelihoods to rebuild their lives and avoid being re-trafficked.

The organisation reaffirmed its commitment to working with NAPTIP, government institutions, civil society organisations and development partners to strengthen prevention, victim identification, protection and prosecution efforts.

Stakeholders at the commemoration agreed that human trafficking has evolved from a traditional crime into a complex security, justice and development challenge requiring technology-driven enforcement, stronger regional cooperation, public awareness and sustained support for survivors.

The emerging consensus was that Nigeria’s success in combating trafficking will depend on whether its response can move as quickly and strategically as criminal networks adapting to the digital age.