FG, UK to Nigerians: Beware of fake overseas job offers

2026-02-24 - 01:36

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP, in partnership with the British High Commission, has warned Nigerians against deceptive overseas job offers used to traffic unsuspecting victims. The warning came at a survivor-centred event, with the theme, “Confronting the Global Scam Centre Crisis: Perspectives of Nigerian Survivors’’, held in Abuja yesterday. According to NAPTIP and its partners, traffickers lure victims abroad with promises of lucrative employment and now transport them to such countries as Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand to carry out sophisticated cyber-fraud operations. They advised Nigerians to be wary of such offers, noting that legitimate employers neither recruit through social media, demand upfront payments, nor require travel on tourist visas for employment. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the event followed a recent trafficking incident involving Nigerian victims in Thailand. A coordinated rescue operation by NAPTIP, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Nigerian Embassy in Bangkok, and the British NGO EDEN led to the safe return of 23 victims. The operation included on-the-ground coordination at the Thai–Myanmar border and welfare visits at Bangkok’s Immigration Detention Centre. Speaking at the event, British Deputy High Commissioner in Abuja, Gill Lever, said the UK is working closely with Nigerian authorities to ensure survivors receive trauma-informed care and safe repatriation. “We are here to listen to survivors, who have shown remarkable bravery in sharing their experiences. Their courage will help prevent others from being harmed, and we stand firmly with Nigeria and our African Commonwealth partners in confronting this rapidly evolving threat,” she said. Lever described the scam-centre phenomenon as a global security challenge, noting that criminal networks defraud victims of more than $64 billion U.S. dollars annually, with British citizens losing an estimated 11.4 billion euros to scams in 2024. Director of Public Enlightenment, Mrs. Kehinde Akomolafe, representing the Director-General of NAPTIP, said survivors’ testimonies exposed the brutal reality of trafficking into scam centres. “This is trafficking, whether it happens in a factory, a brothel, or behind a computer screen. Survivors are victims, not criminals,” she said, reaffirming NAPTIP’s commitment to protecting Nigerians. Several survivors recounted being held in guarded compounds, forced to work up to 18 hours daily on online dating and investment scams, and subjected to physical abuse and psychological trauma. One survivor said victims were beaten, electrocuted, and deprived of food, while another recounted the death of a fellow captive following repeated torture. “I was promised a good job and a better life but instead, I was trapped and forced to live in constant fear,” one survivor narrated. The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) 2026 report titled “A Wicked Problem” indicates that at least 120,000 people are currently held in forced scam operations in Myanmar, with more than 300,000 affected across Southeast Asia. Victims come from at least 66 countries, and between 2020 and 2025, about 74 per cent were promised high-paying jobs before being trafficked to the region. Participants at the event called for stronger international cooperation, increased public awareness, and a shift in public narratives to protect survivors and hold traffickers accountable.