NAPTIP Raises Alarm About Traffickers Luring People With Fake Job Offers!

 Nigerians have been made aware of new tactics by some suspected human traffickers who are posing as well-known global brand trademarks and offering fictitious oil and gas jobs to lure unwary individuals into neighboring West African countries for various forms of exploitation, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, or NAPTIP.

Prof. Fatima Waziri-Azi, the Director-General of NAPTIP, said this in an Abuja press conference.

According to the statement, “As part of our comprehensive enlightenment strategies to equip Nigerians with timely and accurate information to reduce their vulnerability, we have received reports indicating that traffickers have adopted new tactics to lure unsuspecting victims, predominantly to Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, and other West African nations.

“Under the guise of lucrative employment opportunities in gold mining and oil companies, victims are enticed with promises of monthly incomes as high as Nine Hundred Dollars ($900.00), which, as always, are blatant lies. Victims are often instructed to bring up to Eight Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira (N850,000) for documentation and other logistical expenses. Upon arrival at their destination, traffickers confiscate this money, along with the victims’ phones and other personal belongings.

The targeted demographic includes male and female victims aged between 15 and 35 years old. They are typically trafficked through the waterways of Ode Jetty in Lagos en route to the Benin Republic and other parts of the West African region. Some victims are also trafficked via land routes.” 

Before accepting any alluring promises, Waziri-Azi advised Nigerians to proceed with care, ask questions, and get a second view.