The state agency of the State Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) welcomes 231 Nigerians repatriated from Ghana, including 27 identified as suspicious traffickers.
The Ghanaian government transferred to NAPTIP through the Office of Economic and Organized Crime (EOCO) and returned by Nigerians in the Expatriate Commission (NIDCOM) to Nigeria, as they carried out a major crackdown on human trafficking and online grocery groups operating from Ghana’s closed real estate.
Among the welcome returnees on Thursday night, April 24, four women were believed to be victims of trafficking, while the rest were young Nigerian men, some of whom were reportedly imprisoned for several years, allegedly being allegedly fraudulent by the group.
At a handover ceremony held in Naptip’s office in Ikeja, EOCO official Dominic Mensah explained that the operation, known as the “operation rescue shield”, was initiated after illegal activities were conducted in 26 homes in a Ghana property.
According to Dominic Meza, an employee of the EOCO’s anti-trafficking unit, “We received a complaint from a person familiar with the matter on March 28 that accused a Nigerian of using young people to conduct cybercrime. Surveillance was conducted, and we launched a week of operation to the National Security and Police Services a week ago at 3:30 AM a week ago.
Meza added that the victims were drawn to Ghana for excuses to get a job, but ended up trapped and forced into cybercrime. Many people spend weeks to years in the facility.
