The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has warned that traffickers are increasingly using social media, fake job offers and online scams to lure vulnerable Nigerians into human trafficking networks.
Speaking ahead of the 2026 World Day Against Trafficking in Persons in Abuja, NAPTIP Director-General, Hajiya Binta Adamu-Bello, said the agency rescued more than 300 victims linked to cyber-enabled trafficking in 2025 and another 156 victims between January and July 2026. She added that NAPTIP has dismantled suspected trafficking-linked scam centres and secured 47 convictions this year, bringing its total convictions since inception to 839.
Adamu-Bello urged Nigerians to verify overseas job offers, avoid unofficial recruitment channels and report suspicious activities to authorities. She also called for stronger collaboration among governments, development partners, the media and communities to combat technology-driven human trafficking.
Development partners, including the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), the Netherlands Embassy and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), stressed the need for safer migration pathways, stronger victim protection, improved law enforcement and greater investment in skills development and job creation to reduce vulnerability to trafficking.
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