Ghanaian authorities have rescued 76 citizens who were trafficked to Nigeria under a deceptive recruitment scheme that promised football contracts and overseas job opportunities.
The victims, mainly young men, were lured with false assurances of employment, football trials with foreign clubs, and visa assistance, according to the Ghana Police Service.
Upon arrival in Nigeria, the victims had their travel documents and mobile phones confiscated. They were then crammed into overcrowded rooms under poor living conditions and coerced into contacting family members to solicit around $1,000 under the pretense of paying for training or processing fees. The traffickers also exploited the victims’ phone contact lists to defraud their relatives and friends.
At a press briefing, the Director-General of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), COP Lydia Yaako Donkor, said seven Ghanaian nationals had been arrested in connection with the trafficking ring. The rescue operation was carried out between May 19 and June 27, in collaboration with INTERPOL and Nigerian law enforcement agencies.
The victims were rescued from various locations across Nigeria and are yet to be repatriated to Ghana, where they will be reunited with their families.
Donkor urged the public to verify any overseas job or education offers thoroughly before accepting them. “Victims are often asked to travel by road to unfamiliar countries and then held in rented rooms, sometimes with up to 40 people, living in deplorable conditions,” she explained. She also noted that some victims are manipulated into luring others into the same scam, including their own family members.
“The psychological and economic damage to these individuals and their families is immense,” Donkor said, adding that many victims emerge from the ordeal malnourished and emotionally traumatized, unable to return to normal life.
The fraudulent recruitment has been linked to QNET, a global lifestyle and wellness company previously banned in Ghana in 2022 over allegations of operating a Ponzi scheme. QNET has consistently denied involvement in any illegal activity.
Cases of trafficking and internet fraud through fake job offers have become increasingly common in West Africa, especially in Ghana and Nigeria. Authorities say investigations are ongoing to identify and apprehend all those involved in the trafficking network.
