By SARAFINA CHRISTOPHER

The British High Commission and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) have warned Nigerians against deceptive overseas job offers.

They issued the warning on Monday in Abuja at a survivor-centred event with the theme: “Confronting the Global Scam Centre Crisis: Perspectives of Nigerian Survivors.”

According to the officials, such job offers are being used to traffic unsuspecting victims into cyber-enabled scam centres across Southeast Asia.

They disclosed that survivors are usually lured abroad with promises of lucrative employment but end up being trafficked to Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand to carry out sophisticated cyber-fraud.

The UK and NAPTIP officials therefore urged the public to beware of such scams, and note that legitimate employers neither recruit through social media platforms, demand upfront payments nor require travel on tourist visas for employment.

British Deputy High Commissioner in Abuja, Gill Lever, said the UK was working closely with Nigerian authorities and partners to ensure survivors receive trauma-informed care and safe repatriation.

“We are here to listen to survivors, who have shown remarkable bravery in sharing their experiences.

“Their courage will help prevent others from being harmed, and we stand firmly with Nigeria and our African Commonwealth partners in confronting this rapidly evolving threat,” she said.

Lever described the scam-centre phenomenon as a global security challenge.

She noted that criminal networks defraud victims of more than 64 billion U.S. dollars annually, adding that British citizens lost an estimated 11.4 billion euros to scams in 2024.

Mrs Kehinde Akomolafe, Director of Public Enlightenment, representing the Director-General of NAPTIP, said survivors’ testimonies exposed the brutal reality of trafficking into scam centres.

“This is trafficking, whether it happens in a factory, a brothel or behind a computer screen, survivors are victims, not criminals,” she said.

She reaffirmed NAPTIP’s commitment to protecting Nigerians.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event follows a recent trafficking incident, which involved some Nigerian trafficking victims in Thailand.

It took the joint efforts of NAPTIP, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Nigerian Embassy in Bangkok and a British NGO, EDEN, to rescue the victims and safely return the 23 of them back to the country.

The operation also included on-the-ground coordination at the Thai–Myanmar border and welfare visits to the victims held at Bangkok’s Immigration Detention Centre.

Several survivors recounted being held in guarded compounds; forced to work up to 18 hours daily on online dating and investment scams; and subjected to physical abuse and psychological trauma.

One survivor, who spoke exclusively to NAN, disclosed that victims were beaten, electrocuted and deprived of food, and recounted the death of a fellow captive following repeated torture.

“I was promised a good job and a better life but instead, I was trapped and forced to live in constant fear,” one survivor narrated.

The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) 2026 report titled: “A Wicked Problem,” at least 120,000 people are currently being held in forced scam operations in Myanmar, with more than 300,000 affected across Southeast Asia.

The report indicates that victims come from at least 66 countries, and that between 2020 and 2025, about 74 per cent of those trafficked into scam centres worldwide were promised high-paying jobs before being taken to the region.

The stakeholders called for stronger international cooperation, increased public awareness and a shift in public narratives to protect survivors and hold traffickers accountable. (NAN)

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