THE Federal Government has announced that at least 231 young Nigerians who were trafficked to Ghana are expected to return to Lagos on Friday.
In a statement issued on Thursday, April 24, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, said the development followed the rescue of 219 young Nigerians from a human trafficking syndicate that had coerced them into cybercrime activities by the Ghanaian authorities..
It highlighted that the victims were discovered after they were confined in about 25 rooms within a residential estate in Accra, Ghana’s capital.
During a visit to the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) in Accra, Odumegwu-Ojukwu expressed Nigeria’s gratitude for the rescue operation and lauded the EOCO operatives for their professionalism and compassionate treatment of the victims.
“Count yourselves lucky, as next time, it may not be a benevolent country like Ghana. It may not be a circumstance within a location where we have excellent bilateral relations.
“There are countries that take cybercrimes very seriously, and by the time they lock you up, they will throw away the key. We are still trying to this day to ensure that Ethiopia signs our exchange or transfer of sentenced persons MoU so that we can bring those nationals who are trapped in their prisons back to Nigeria. So we don’t lose even more of them” she said.
The Executive Director of EOCO, Bashiru Dapilah, explained that his agency launched the operation after acting on credible intelligence that led to uncovering the trafficking network.
He confirmed that several Ghanaians were part of the network, including the owner of the estate where the youths were kept.
The house owner has been arrested and will be prosecuted.
Dapilah emphasised the importance of cross-border collaboration, stressing that although the crime took place in Ghana, it involved individuals from Nigeria. He called for enhanced cooperation between the two nations to ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice.
Theu ICIR that some of the victims were subjected to abuse, with visible injuries, and one individual sustained broken legs after allegedly failing to turn over proceeds from the illicit activities.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu, who described the ordeal as a form of modern-day slavery, cautioned Nigerian youths against being lured by fake job offers abroad
She said such promises were often disguised for human trafficking operations.
The minister emphasised the Federal Government’s commitment to tackling youth unemployment through skill acquisition programmes and urged the rescued individuals to take advantage of available federal intervention schemes to rebuild their lives.
“We are happy that this commission has excellent relations with NAPTIP, and they have been kind enough. I was really humbled when the Executive Director said their interest is not for these young men to get back to Nigeria into the prison system, because that’s what usually happens.
“So, when you get home, give the government the opportunity to equip you with skills,” Odumegwu-Ojukwu said.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues.