By Ebi Kesiena
Nigeria and Ghana have successfully rescued 219 young Nigerians trafficked to Ghana and forced into cybercrime operations, in a joint effort hailed as a model for bilateral cooperation in combating organised crime.
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, who visited the victims at Ghana’s Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) in Accra, commended the professionalism of Ghanaian operatives and their humane treatment of the victims.
The Minister, who was in Ghana for ECOWAS’ 50th anniversary and ministerial meetings, condemned the exploitation as “modern-day slavery,” urging young Nigerians to be wary of false job offers abroad.
She revealed that the Nigerian High Commission in Ghana had alerted her to the situation. A sting operation uncovered over 200 young men locked in 25 rooms within an estate, forced to engage in cybercrime. Many suffered physical abuse, with one victim reportedly having his legs broken for failing to remit sufficient proceeds to his captors.
“These young men were trapped for weeks in dark rooms, some unable to adjust to sunlight when rescued,” she said, warning that many others have died or are imprisoned under harsher conditions abroad.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu urged the victims to embrace federal government reintegration programmes under President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. “You’ve been given a second chance. Use it wisely,” she said.
She also praised Ghana’s anti-graft agency for prioritising justice and avoiding automatic repatriation into Nigeria’s prison system. The Executive Director of EOCO, Mr Bashiru Dapilah, disclosed that both Nigerian and Ghanaian nationals were complicit, and the estate owner has been arrested.
Dapilah stressed the need for cross-border collaboration to apprehend masterminds. “The crime was committed here, but we know someone in Nigeria is behind it,” he said.
A total of 231 victims, including others intercepted earlier, will return to Nigeria on Friday.
