Victims were lured with “promises of football contracts with top foreign teams, job placements abroad or assistance with visa processing.”
Ghanaian police say 76 Ghanaians trafficked to Nigeria under a fake recruitment scheme have been rescued.
The mostly young male victims were promised football contracts, jobs abroad, or visa help. On arrival in Nigeria, their documents and phones were seized, and they were crammed into overcrowded rooms under poor conditions. Forced to call families for around $1,000 in “training fees,” scammers also used their contacts to target relatives.
Seven Ghanaian suspects have been arrested. “The psychological and economic harm caused to these victims and their families is devastating,” said Ghana’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) head Lydia Yaako Donkor.
The rescue, conducted with Interpol and Nigerian law enforcement, freed victims in different Nigerian states between 19 May and 27 June. They are yet to be repatriated.
Donkor urged families to verify job offers abroad and warned of holding camps where victims are pressured to recruit others.
Police say efforts to arrest all perpetrators are ongoing.