Rights Group Appeals to FG to Rescue Nigerians Trafficked to Myanmar

A human rights group, Asylum and Refugee Rights Advocacy (ARRA), has sounded the alarm over the alleged enslavement of Nigerians in human trafficking and cyber-scam camps in Myanmar, urging the Federal Government to intervene and bring the victims home.

In a statement on Tuesday, signed by ARRA’s founder and Executive Director, Dr. Okey James Ezugwu, a retired Assistant Comptroller General of Immigration, the organisation said hundreds of Nigerians are being held in captivity in volatile regions of Myanmar, including Myawaddy, after being lured abroad with promises of well-paying white-collar jobs.

“We are deeply concerned about the increasing number of desperate jobseekers, including Nigerian citizens, who have fallen prey to transnational human trafficking syndicates operating across Southeast Asia,” the group said.

According to ARRA, the victims were recruited under the pretext of legitimate employment in ICT, customer service, and related sectors but were trafficked into Myanmar, where they are forced to work in cyber-scam compounds under inhumane conditions.

“Upon arrival, their passports are confiscated, their movements restricted, and they are subjected to threats, coercion, physical abuse, and forced labour, often under armed surveillance,” the organisation said.

ARRA added that victims who fail to meet strict work quotas face severe punishment. “Those who resist or cannot meet targets are brutalised, detained, or handed over to local authorities, leading to imprisonment under harsh and degrading conditions,” it stated.

The group cited a voice note from a stranded Nigerian in Myanmar: “We were promised real jobs, but it was all a lie. When we got here, they seized our documents and told us we must work for them. There is no freedom here.” The victim noted that several Nigerians are currently imprisoned.

“Some are in detention because their visas expired after traffickers abandoned them. Others are in hiding. We have no jobs, no money, and no way to return home,” he said.

ARRA highlighted that many victims are surviving through charity. “With no access to consular protection, some Nigerians rely on churches and sympathetic locals just to eat and stay alive,” the statement read. The organisation described the situation as critical, with victims trapped in a country facing political instability and armed conflict.

“They live in constant fear of arrest, abuse, and death. They cannot move freely, work legally, or return home,” ARRA said.

The group called on the Federal Government to act immediately. “We demand the activation of diplomatic channels to identify, secure, and evacuate all stranded and detained Nigerians in Myanmar,” it stated. ARRA also urged the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) to coordinate a comprehensive rescue, documentation, and repatriation effort in partnership with Nigerian missions, neighbouring countries, and international organisations.

ARRA appealed to international bodies, including the United Nations, the International Organization for Migration, and the International Committee of the Red Cross, to intervene.

Beyond rescue, the organisation called for accountability: “Trafficking networks, recruiters, and collaborators, both within and outside Nigeria, must be thoroughly investigated and prosecuted.”

Warning of the urgency, ARRA said, “These are not statistics; they are Nigerian sons and daughters whose only mistake was seeking a better life. Every day of delay puts more lives at risk.”