The Federal Government has sounded a strong warning about a disturbing rise in cyber-slavery targeting young Nigerians across West Africa. Authorities say criminal syndicates are luring teenagers and youths with fake promises of high-paying jobs-especially in the booming cryptocurrency sector-only to traffic them into what are now being called “419 cyber-scam factories”.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, victims, some of them minors, are deceived into traveling abroad for supposed employment. Instead, they end up trapped in criminal call centres, where they are forced under harsh and inhumane conditions to send thousands of fraudulent emails, texts, and calls to scam people worldwide.
A recent rescue operation in Accra, Ghana, brought the crisis into sharp focus: over 200 Nigerians were freed from such cybercrime rings, where they had been held captive and compelled to commit online fraud.
“This incident highlights the severe exploitation and abuse associated with cybercrime operations,” said Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar. “It underscores the urgent need to dismantle these multibillion-dollar criminal networks and reduce the vulnerability of potential victims”.
The government is urging Nigerians-especially young people and their families-to be extremely cautious about job offers that promise easy money, overseas travel, or remote work involving cryptocurrencies. Officials stress the importance of verifying any employment opportunity through official channels and reporting suspicious offers to the authorities.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reaffirmed its commitment to working with regional and international partners to combat cyber-slavery, rescue victims, and bring perpetrators to justice. Awareness campaigns are being intensified to protect Nigerian citizens at home and abroad from falling prey to these sophisticated scams.
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