Overseas jobs: UK, NAPTIP Warns Nigerians

Securing overseas jobs can be a great way to fast track one’s career and educational progress; however, Nigerians interested in that pathway have to understand one or two things.

The British High Commission and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) say such Nigerians need to understand that not all overseas jobs are genuine.

They gave the warning on Monday in Abuja at an event with the theme: “Confronting the Global Scam Centre Crisis: Perspectives of Nigerian Survivors.”

Sometimes, such job offers are bogus, emanating from dubious locations and used for the purpose of trafficking unwary individuals, using cyber-enabled scam centres across Southeast Asia.

Investigations and accounts from victims of such fraud, was a trigger to the event, even as British Deputy High Commissioner in Abuja, Gill Lever, stated:

“We are here to listen to survivors, who have shown remarkable bravery in sharing their experiences.

“Their courage will help prevent others from being harmed, and we stand firmly with Nigeria and our African Commonwealth partners in confronting this rapidly evolving threat,” she said.

Lever stated that criminal networks defraud victims of more than 64 billion U.S. dollars annually, adding that British citizens lost an estimated 11.4 billion euros to scams in 2024.

READ ALSO: How 5 Agents Trafficking Nigerian Children Overseas Were Nabbed

READ ALSO: NAPTIP Issues One Month Ultimatum to Rehabilitation Homes, Others

Director of Public Enlightenment of NAPTIP, while speaking referenced to the accounts of survivors and enlightening on how brutal those behind the traffic in persons could be.

“This is trafficking, whether it happens in a factory, a brothel or behind a computer screen, survivors are victims, not criminals,” she said.

Our correspondent reports that the UK is working closely with NAPTIP, the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and others towards ensuring survivors of human trafficking obtained safer repatriation and rehabilitation.