Torture in Myanmar death camp — Nigerian survivors recount their horror in search of jobs

2026-03-07 - 07:46

By Favour Ulebor, Abuja What began as a Facebook job advertisement promising employment in Thailand ended in months of captivity inside guarded scam compounds along the Thailand–Myanmar border for five young Nigerians before they were rescued from transnational scam operations in Southeast Asia. Read Also: Saved by Hunters: When hook-up goes wrong The survivors, four men and one woman, recounted to Vanguard how they were recruited through social media, trafficked across borders, forced into cybercrime, subjected to severe abuse, and later detained for illegal immigration. They were part of a larger group of more than 32 Nigerians who were safely returned to the country in batches through a coordinated rescue operation by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Nigerian Embassy in Bangkok and the British NGO EDEN. The operation included on-the-ground coordination at the Thai-Myanmar border and welfare visits at Bangkok’s Immigration Detention Centre. The survivors shared their harrowing experience to Vanguard at a survivor-centred event, with the theme, “Confronting the Global Scam Centre Crisis: Perspectives of Nigerian survivors”, held in Abuja. For security reasons, they chose to identify themselves as Alex, David, Morgan, Val, and Princess. They began their journey in September 2025 after completing the recruitment and visa process. A carefully constructed recruitment trap According to the survivors, the recruitment began with a Facebook advertisement for customer care agents in Thailand. The offer promised monthly salaries of up to $1,500, accommodation and feeding, with no upfront payment required. “It sounded professional. It sounded real. It sounded like hope,” Alex said. According to him, “After responding to the advertisement of Facebook, we were moved to Telegram groups where only administrators could post messages. Structured interviews followed. We were asked about our education, passport status, computer skills and marital status. We were then required to submit passport data pages, birth certificates, police clearance documents, typing test videos, and bank statements. “Looking back now, I can say that the traffickers deliberately created a professional and convincing recruitment process to gain our trust and lower our suspicions. Before our visa interviews in Abuja, money was transferred into our bank accounts to demonstrate financial capability. Flights were booked for us after visa approval, and we were given so-called ‘show money; for airport checks. At that moment, we believed we were traveling for legitimate employment. Movement across borders “Upon arrival in Thailand, the situation quickly changed. Thailand immigration officials approached us, displayed our photographs and directed us to drivers waiting outside the airport. We were then transported for several hours and we were instructed to claim that we were tourists heading to Mae Sot if we were questioned. We were moved through hotels, then transferred at night into trucks carrying other foreign nationals. “Internet access stopped during the journey. Vehicles were changed multiple times before we were driven through forested terrain. At that stage, we realized that we were no longer in control. We were eventually taken into heavily guarded compounds across the border in Myanmar”. Forced labour inside guarded compounds David, another victim took over the narration where Alex stopped. He said, “inside the compounds where we were held, our phones were confiscated and communication with the outside world was cut off. The facility resembles a detention center rather than a workplace. “We were not treated as employees, but as property. We were forced into online dating scams and instructed to pose under fake identities and target foreign men. “We worked up to 18 hours daily, with minimal rest. If we failed to meet targets, we were punished. The punishments included beatings, electric shocks, food deprivation, confinement in small cells, and public humiliation. Any attempt to resist the work resulted in further abuse. Many of us were electrocuted and beaten until we agreed to resume work. A Ugandan woman held in the compound, identified as Princess, was also subjected to severe punishment. Death of a Nigerian in captivity “We recall the death of a fellow Nigerian, referred to as Mazi who had been repeatedly punished for failing to meet targets. He was beaten, tortured and electrocuted repeatedly. “On the day he died, he showed signs of severe distress after another round of punishment. His death was not accidental, it was the direct result of repeated torture and abuse. And we were warned not to speak about the incident”. Secret contact and escape After months in captivity, they then began to secretly send emails to organizations for help. According to Morgan, another survivor narrating their experience, “Only NAPTIP and Eden Myanmar were able to establish direct contact with us. Through covert communication, we coordinated a plan; we studied guard movements and identified weak points in the fence. When an opportunity emerged, we escaped into nearby forested terrain on December 1, 2025, the day we described as our rescue. We hiked through dense forest for hours before reaching safety. It was not dramatic. It was terrifying. We had managed to transmit our location before fleeing and help later arrived through coordinated efforts. Arrest and detention in Thailand “After crossing into Thailand, we were taken into military custody and later charged with illegal immigration. We were forced to plead guilty and were detained at an Immigration Detention Centre in Bangkok. We were locked in a hall with about one hundred and twenty prisoners. “Eventually, flight tickets were secured and we were deported to Nigeria. We returned to Nigeria in January 2026 after weeks in detention. Trauma and call for action “Now back home, the psychological impact remains with us, the memories still haunt us”, Morgan said. They therefore called for stronger anti-trafficking enforcement, improved victim protection, and greater awareness about fraudulent overseas job offers circulating on social media. Their experience highlights the growing sophistication of trafficking networks operating across Southeast Asia, exploiting vulnerable job seekers and forcing them into organized cybercrime. What began as a Facebook opportunity landed them in captivity inside a guarded compound. For these five Nigerians, escape was possible. For others still inside similar compounds, freedom may remain out of reach. At the event, NAPTIP and its partners raised the alarm that “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 counseled Nigerians to be wary of such offers, noting that legitimate employers would not recruit through social media or require travel on tourist visas for employment. Vanguard News