{"id":64843,"date":"2025-04-25T15:35:44","date_gmt":"2025-04-25T15:35:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/?p=64843"},"modified":"2025-04-25T15:35:44","modified_gmt":"2025-04-25T15:35:44","slug":"over-two-hundred-nigerians-freed-from-cybercrime-slavery-in-ghana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/2025\/04\/25\/over-two-hundred-nigerians-freed-from-cybercrime-slavery-in-ghana\/","title":{"rendered":"Over Two Hundred Nigerians Freed from Cybercrime Slavery in Ghana"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Adenike Lawal<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

More than two hundred Nigerians trafficked and forced into cybercrime operations in Ghana are set to return home today in what authorities are calling a major victory against modern-day slavery.<\/p>\n

According to a statement from the office of the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, 231 Nigerians, including 219 young victims, were rescued and will arrive in Lagos on Friday.<\/p>\n

Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu hailed the Ghanaian Economic and Organised Crimes Office for its swift intervention and compassionate handling of the victims.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis operation stands as a shining example of international cooperation in fighting organised crime,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Recounting the harrowing ordeal, she revealed that the trafficked youths were confined to about 25 rooms in a single compound where they were forced into online scams.<\/p>\n

Many had been locked indoors for weeks and could barely adjust to daylight when freed.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome had visible injuries. One had his legs broken for not surrendering his full cybercrime earnings.<\/p>\n

“It is a cruel reminder that slavery still exists, only now in new and brutal forms,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

She warned young Nigerians to be wary of enticing job offers abroad that may be a trap. \u201cYou were lucky to escape. Others may not get the same chance,\u201d she told the rescued victims.<\/p>\n

Ambassador Odumegwu-Ojukwu praised the collaboration between Ghana\u2019s EOCO and Nigeria\u2019s anti-trafficking agency, NAPTIP, noting the humane decision not to criminalize the victims.<\/p>\n

She encouraged the returnees to embrace rehabilitation and government-backed skill training.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo matter where you go, home is still the best place to build a future. Allow your country to help you rebuild,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

EOCO\u2019s Executive Director, Mr. Bashiru Dapilah, said intelligence reports led to the raid and credited law-abiding Nigerians in Ghana for aiding the investigation.<\/p>\n

He confirmed that the estate owner involved in the operation has been arrested and will be prosecuted.<\/p>\n

Ambassador Dayo Adeoye, Nigeria\u2019s envoy in Ghana, emphasized the need for public education to prevent future cases, noting that over three million Nigerians currently live in Ghana.<\/p>\n

The rescue highlights the urgent need for vigilance, cooperation, and reintegration efforts as countries confront the evolving face of human trafficking.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Adenike Lawal More than two hundred Nigerians trafficked and forced into cybercrime operations in Ghana are set to return home today in what authorities are calling a major victory against modern-day slavery. According to a statement from the office of the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, 231 Nigerians, including 219 young victims, were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":64844,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[181],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-64843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64843"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64843\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64845,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64843\/revisions\/64845"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}