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From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has raised the alarm that human traffickers have invaded the digital space, using different digital tools to lure victims with, perhaps, unrealistic mouth-watering offers and opportunities.
The agency said more young people, who are actively present in the social media and other digital spaces/tools, are ignorantly falling victims of the antics of these human traffickers, an indication that there is a shift from physical recruitment to virtual recruitment through virtual assessment of victims and proxy negotiations.
NAPTIP, in a statement posted on its twitter account, yesterday, asked Nigerians, especially the youth, who have massive online presence and interactions, to be aware of the tricks of the human traffickers.
Part of the statement reads: “Did you know human traffickers have adapted their mode of operation for online advertisements, recruitment and exploitation of victims? Everyday digital platforms are being used by traffickers to advertise deceptive job offers and to market exploitative services to potential paying customers.
“Victims are recruited through social media, with traffickers taking advantage of publicly available personal information to contact victims. The best way to prevent falling for their scheme is to know what to look out for.”
The agency asked Nigerians to study several advisories being churn out, so they can get acquainted with human trafficking trends, red flags for identifying and reporting suspicious trafficking activities and how they can help a victim of trafficking.
In August 2022, NAPTIP Director General, Prof. Fatima Waziri-Azi, told journalists at a press conference to herald week-long events to mark the 2022 World Day against human trafficking with the theme “use and abuse of technology”, the more human trafficking activities are going on in the digital space than the physical interactions. She said the 2022 event focuses on the role of technology as a tool that can enable, as well as impede human trafficking.
She said: “This theme is timely, and couldn’t have come at a better time, considering the fact that human traffickers now operate online, as much as they do offline.
If COVID-19 has taught us anything, it is the reinforcement of the need for digital channels of communication, which has led to a massive digital transformation.
“The fact remains that, while technology has come as a great relief and a major boost in the way of life of people, the same has left much to be concerned, because human traffickers have also caught on to this digital transformation.
“The internet, unarguably, provides easy access to a larger pool of potential victims because geographical limitations no longer exist, thereby, increasing the ease with which traffickers locate and recruit their victims; control and organise transportation for victims, communicate amongst perpetrators, and hide criminal proceeds.”
She said NAPTIP has, lately, recorded a significant increase in reports of fake job advertorials and fake scholarships via social media, as traffickers use the platform to recruit unsuspecting victims. “Traffickers also use digital platforms to control their victims. Besides oath taking, they make nude videos of their victims and threaten to share the exclusive images online,” she added.
She said the agency has secured partnership with Meta, owners of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, to use their expertise to monitor online activities that expose Nigerians to human traffickers.
The Acting Chief of Mission, International Organisations for Migration (IOM), Ms. Prestage Murima, in her remarks, confirmed that human traffickers have gained mastery of digital tools and are using it to woo young Nigerians, particularly those between ages 18 to 34, for forced prostitution, labour and other illegal activities abroad.
She said Nigeria is designated as a country of origin, transit and destination for victims of human trafficking, and one of the countries in the world with the highest number of human trafficking victims.
“Some of these victims are trafficked to Europe, the Gulf countries, Asia, Russia and other West and Southern African countries mainly for sexual and labour exploitation,” she said.
She confirmed that IOM is in partnership with the Federal Government, UN, private organisations and development partners to assist vulnerable migrants, including victims of trafficking and unaccompanied and separated migrants children develop their capacity and ensure smooth reintegration into the society.
Representative of the International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies, Mr. Jose Nsang, said their new study revealed new ways through which victims are trafficked, namely, sporting events, cultural tourism, religious pilgrimage, school excursion, among others.
He promised that his organisation will continue to offer support to NAPTIP in its quest to protect Nigerians from the “monsters” called human traffickers.
