Nigeria, UK Spotlight Rising Threat of Scam-Centre Trafficking After Rescue of 23 Victims
- Feb 24
- 2 min read
Nigerian authorities and international partners have renewed calls for urgent action against human trafficking into online scam centres, following the rescue and return of 23 Nigerian victims from Southeast Asia.
The development comes after a recent trafficking case in Thailand, which prompted a joint rescue operation involving National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Nigerian Embassy in Bangkok, and the British anti-trafficking organisation EDEN. The effort included cross-border coordination around the Thai–Myanmar frontier and welfare checks at Bangkok’s Immigration Detention Centre before the victims were safely repatriated.
Speaking at a stakeholder event in Abuja, British Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Gill Lever, said the United Kingdom was working closely with Nigerian institutions to ensure survivors receive trauma-informed support and safe reintegration.
She described scam-centre trafficking as a fast-growing global security challenge, driven by organised criminal networks that exploit vulnerable people while defrauding victims worldwide of billions of dollars annually. Lever noted that the scale of online fraud has made the crime transnational and increasingly complex to tackle.
Representing NAPTIP’s Director-General, Director of Public Enlightenment Kehinde Akomolafe said testimonies from survivors clearly showed that forced online scamming falls squarely under human trafficking. She stressed that those trapped in such operations are victims who deserve protection, not criminalisation.
According to survivors’ accounts shared at the event, victims were confined in heavily guarded compounds and compelled to work for long hours running online dating and fake investment schemes. Many reported physical violence, threats, and severe psychological abuse intended to force compliance.
International data supports the scale of the problem. A 2026 report by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights estimates that at least 120,000 people are currently held in forced scam operations in Myanmar alone, with hundreds of thousands affected across Southeast Asia, many lured by promises of lucrative jobs.
Participants at the forum called for deeper international cooperation, stronger law enforcement collaboration, and sustained public awareness campaigns. They also urged a change in public narratives to centre survivor protection while aggressively pursuing traffickers behind the expanding scam-centre networks.
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