No fewer than 46 Ghanaian nationals trafficked into Nigeria have been rescued by operatives of the National Central Bureau (NCB) in Abuja.
The operation, which also led to the arrest of seven suspects linked to human trafficking and cybercrime, was carried out in collaboration with INTERPOL and the Ghana High Commission.
Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, confirmed the development in a statement on Wednesday, attributing the success to two coordinated operations.
In the first operation, 31 victims were discovered to have been trafficked from Ghana to Nigeria under the guise of job placements in Europe. Investigations revealed that they were coerced into fraudulent online marketing operations connected to the QNET network.
“Preliminary Investigations revealed that in August 2024, one Samuel Dankwah Opoku, a Ghanaian national, was deceived by one George Tenkron, who falsely assured him of employment in Spain. Opoku was directed to travel to Nigeria, where he became ensnared in QNET’s fraudulent schemes. It was further uncovered that the victim had paid Thirty Thousand Ghanaian Cedis GHC 30,000 to one Attah Amankwaah, a Ghanaian residing in Nigeria and a known member of the QNET network. This syndicate specializes in manipulating and confining individuals into exploitative online marketing scams under duress and false obligations,” Adejobi stated.
Six suspects were arrested at the group’s operational base, where police uncovered incriminating materials exposing a broader network involved in cyber fraud and trafficking.
“Acting on credible intelligence, operatives of the Nigeria Police Force apprehended six suspects, including Attah Amankwaah, and uncovered incriminating materials during a raid at their operational base. Detailed statements obtained from both victims and suspects led to the exposure of a wider transnational human trafficking and internet fraud network. The rescued victims were subsequently handed over to the Ghana High Commission,” he added.
In a separate incident on June 17, 2025, police received a distress alert about four more Ghanaian nationals trafficked into the country by 39-year-old Achiaa Grace Afrifa. Adejobi said she had allegedly extorted 126,000 Ghanaian Cedis from her victims under false job offers.
She was arrested in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, on June 18, and 15 victims were rescued from her custody.
All seven suspects are currently in custody and will be prosecuted once investigations are concluded.
Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, commended the collaboration with INTERPOL and Ghanaian authorities, reaffirming the Nigeria Police Force’s commitment to dismantling trafficking networks and combating cybercrime.
