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In a public advisory issued on Monday, May 25, 2026, the agency warned that traffickers and organized criminal groups are using deceptive promises of jobs, education, and better living opportunities abroad to lure unsuspecting victims into forced labour, sexual exploitation, and other forms of human trafficking.
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has raised fresh concerns over the growing wave of fraudulent migration schemes and irregular cross-border movements across the country, warning that criminal syndicates are increasingly targeting vulnerable Nigerians, especially young women and girls.In a public advisory issued on Monday, May 25, 2026, the agency warned that traffickers and organized criminal groups are using deceptive promises of jobs, education, and better living opportunities abroad to lure unsuspecting victims into forced labour, sexual exploitation, and other forms of human trafficking.
The public advisory, signed by the NIS’s Public Relations Officer, DCI A.S. Akinlabi, said many Nigerians are being manipulated into illegal migration arrangements that expose them to severe dangers outside the country.
“The Service warns that criminal networks often target vulnerable individuals, particularly young women and girls, through deceptive offers of employment, education, and opportunities for a better life abroad,” the statement read.
“These schemes frequently result in forced labor, human trafficking, and other forms of exploitation.”
The immigration agency stressed that it is illegal for anyone to leave Nigeria without valid travel documents, including passports and visas, warning that no legitimate migration process bypasses official immigration channels or authorized border posts.
“It is illegal to leave Nigeria without a valid passport, visa, and other required documents, and doing so poses serious dangers,” the statement added.
The NIS also cautioned Nigerians against accepting sponsorship offers, travel assistance, or relocation promises from unverified individuals and groups, noting that many such offers are fronts for trafficking operations.
“Be extremely cautious of unsolicited offers of sponsorship, travel fare, or ‘help’ to go abroad from unknown or unverified persons,” the agency warned.
The NIS urged members of the public to verify the authenticity of travel and recruitment opportunities through official government channels and avoid dealing with agents promoting irregular migration.
The agency further appealed to citizens to report suspicious persons or movements linked to illegal migration schemes to immigration offices and security agencies across the country.
The NIS also called on parents, guardians, and community leaders to educate young people about the dangers associated with irregular migration and trafficking in persons.
“The Service therefore urges parents, guardians, and community leaders to stay vigilant and educate young people on the risks of Irregular Migration and Trafficking in Persons,” the agency noted.
The agency reiterated its commitment to securing Nigeria’s borders and protecting citizens from exploitation by trafficking syndicates and criminal migration networks.
The latest warning comes amid a series of disturbing trafficking incidents reported by SaharaReporters in recent years involving Nigerians stranded, abused, or sold into forced labour and sexual exploitation across Libya, Italy, Iraq, and other countries.
SaharaReporters has reported several cases involving young Nigerian women trafficked to countries such as Libya, Iraq, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates under the guise of securing lucrative jobs, only to end up trapped in abusive conditions, with some allegedly subjected to torture, rape, and forced prostitution.
In some cases, victims narrated how traffickers confiscated their passports upon arrival and forced them into domestic servitude or commercial sex work while threatening them with violence or spiritual intimidation if they attempted to escape.
SaharaReporters has also reported incidents where desperate Nigerians attempting to migrate through dangerous desert and Mediterranean routes were abandoned by traffickers, kidnapped by armed groups, or detained in foreign prisons and slave camps.
Human rights groups and anti-trafficking agencies have repeatedly warned that worsening economic hardship, unemployment, and insecurity in Nigeria are pushing more young people into the hands of trafficking networks promising escape and opportunities abroad.
SOURCE: SAHARA REPORTERS
