Key points
- AGF says traffickers are increasingly using social media, encrypted platforms and fake recruitment websites.
- Nigerian youths are being lured abroad with fake technology and digital jobs before ending up in scam compounds.
- NAPTIP has secured 839 convictions since inception, including 47 convictions between January and July 2026.
- The agency rescued 156 victims during the same period and repatriated over 300 trafficked Nigerians from Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire in 2025.
- Government called for stronger enforcement of anti-trafficking and cybercrime laws and greater international cooperation.
- Stakeholders urged technology companies and financial institutions to support investigations through intelligence sharing.
Main Story
The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, has warned that the growing use of digital platforms by human traffickers is complicating Nigeria’s legal and institutional efforts to combat human trafficking.
Fagbemi made the disclosure on Thursday in Abuja during the commemoration of the 2026 World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, observed annually on July 30, where he said traffickers had shifted from traditional recruitment methods to social media platforms, encrypted messaging applications and fake online recruitment portals.
Represented by the Director of Planning, Research and Statistics in the Ministry of Justice, Victoria Ojogbane, the minister said many Nigerian graduates are being deceived with promises of lucrative overseas jobs in technology, digital marketing, cryptocurrency trading and telecommunications, only to become trapped in scam compounds abroad.
He stressed that the evolving tactics require stronger enforcement of Nigeria’s anti-trafficking and cybercrime laws, improved digital forensic capabilities and enhanced international cooperation to dismantle transnational trafficking networks.
According to the minister, the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015 remains the cornerstone of Nigeria’s anti-trafficking legal framework, while the Cybercrimes Act and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 provide additional tools to combat online trafficking and trace illicit proceeds.
Fagbemi noted that Nigeria’s participation in international anti-trafficking agreements has strengthened collaboration with regional and global partners in tackling cross-border trafficking.
He disclosed that the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has secured 839 convictions since its establishment, including 47 convictions recorded between January and July 2026.
During the same period, the agency rescued 156 victims, while more than 300 trafficked Nigerians were repatriated from Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire in 2025.
The minister further revealed that NAPTIP’s Cyber Response Team had disrupted trafficking-linked scam centres, intercepted 46 suspected victims at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, and rescued another 120 victims in Kano.
He added that the agency had validated the National Strategy for Trafficking in Persons and Violence Against Persons 2025–2027 to strengthen Nigeria’s response to emerging trafficking threats.
Citing data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Fagbemi said more than 300,000 people are trafficked annually into scam compounds across Southeast Asia, generating billions of dollars for criminal networks.
He noted that some Nigerian victims were among those trafficked to Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and the Philippines, where they were forced to engage in online fraud and other cyber-enabled crimes.
The Attorney-General emphasised that legislation alone cannot eliminate trafficking, urging technology companies, telecommunications operators and financial institutions to support law enforcement agencies through intelligence sharing and preservation of digital evidence.
He also called on parents, educators, religious leaders, traditional rulers and the media to educate young Nigerians about fake online recruitment schemes and sustain public awareness of emerging trafficking methods.
The Issues
Human traffickers are increasingly exploiting digital platforms and encrypted technologies to recruit victims.
Fake overseas employment offers targeting young Nigerians are becoming more sophisticated.
Combating technology-driven trafficking requires stronger cybercrime enforcement and digital forensic capabilities.
International cooperation remains critical to dismantling transnational trafficking syndicates.
Public awareness is essential to preventing online recruitment scams and protecting vulnerable persons.
What’s Being Said
Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, said traffickers have shifted from conventional recruitment methods to digital platforms, making anti-trafficking efforts more complex and requiring stronger legal, technological and international responses.
He said NAPTIP has recorded significant progress through convictions, victim rescues and international collaborations but stressed that government agencies cannot tackle the challenge alone.
The minister urged technology firms, telecommunications companies, financial institutions, parents, educators, traditional and religious leaders, as well as the media, to play active roles in identifying trafficking networks and preventing online recruitment scams.
What’s Next
The Federal Government is expected to intensify enforcement of anti-trafficking and cybercrime laws, strengthen digital investigation capabilities and implement the National Strategy for Trafficking in Persons and Violence Against Persons 2025–2027. Authorities will also deepen collaboration with international partners and technology companies to combat emerging forms of digital human trafficking.
Bottom Line
As human traffickers increasingly migrate to digital platforms, Nigeria is strengthening its legal, technological and institutional response, but authorities say sustained collaboration among government, the private sector and the public will be crucial to protecting vulnerable Nigerians from evolving online trafficking networks.
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