Nigeria: Youths Trafficked to Asia for Cyber-Slavery

• Nigerian youth Sabiu was trafficked to Laos, sold for $5,000, and forced into cyber-scamming in a Southeast Asian compound.
• His scholarship to China only covered one year of language instruction, leading him to illegal work which became unsustainable.
• After escaping, Sabiu survived for six months by selling marijuana and scavenging, even attempting suicide.
• A Laotian shopkeeper showed him kindness, and an interaction with ChatGPT led him to seek help from IOM.
• Sabiu's story is part of a wider investigation into Nigerian youths lured via social media into Asian cyber-slavery camps.

His experience is emblematic of a wider investigation by STEPHEN ANGBULU into the trafficking of Nigerian youths, who are frequently enticed through social media into these exploitative cybercrime operations across Southeast Asia.

A 26-year-old Nigerian man named Sabiu, originally from Borno State, found himself ensnared in a brutal cyber-slavery operation in Southeast Asia after being lured by a false job opportunity in Laos. Upon his arrival, the promised employment quickly devolved into captivity within a cyber-scam compound. His passport was confiscated, his personal savings were stolen, and he was forced to participate in online scams targeting unsuspecting individuals, all under the watchful eyes of armed guards.

Sabiu's captor chillingly informed him, "I had paid $5,000 to buy you," when he attempted to leave the compound. This stark declaration underscored the grim reality of his situation, revealing that he had been trafficked and sold into forced labor. His experience is emblematic of a wider investigation by STEPHEN ANGBULU into the trafficking of Nigerian youths, who are frequently enticed through social media into these exploitative cybercrime operations across Southeast Asia.

After managing to escape the compound, Sabiu faced a harrowing six months of survival in Bokeo Province, Laos, a mountainous region bordering China, Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand, and Cambodia. By October 2024, he was sleeping on bus station benches, scavenging for leftover food from restaurants, and charging his phone by lingering in eateries until he was asked to leave. In a desperate bid to earn money, he sold marijuana to other displaced Africans who had also emerged from similar cyber-scam compounds, buying at 30 Yuan and selling at 50 Yuan, with a 20 Yuan profit (approximately $2.70) often only enough for a single plate of noodles per day.

The extreme conditions pushed Sabiu to the brink; he attempted suicide by ingesting poison mixed into pineapple juice, which only resulted in diarrhea. A glimmer of unexpected kindness came from a Laotian shopkeeper, a Buddhist who initially distrusted Black individuals. However, after observing Sabiu consistently removing his shoes before entering the shop, the shopkeeper began extending him credit for noodles, noting that his "character was different." In his darkest moments, Sabiu even turned to ChatGPT, asking for the "easiest way to end it," but the AI instead recommended agencies that could provide assistance, ultimately leading him to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for help. His fragile economy of survival collapsed when his Laotian friend, who supplied the marijuana, was arrested.

Sabiu's journey into this perilous situation began with academic aspirations. In 2023, he secured a scholarship to study engineering at Jiangxi University of Science and Technology in China. However, upon arrival, he discovered that the scholarship only covered one year of Chinese language instruction, leaving him responsible for the tuition fees for the remaining four years of his engineering degree. Despite his father's plea for him to return home, Sabiu, determined to "leave Nigeria behind" and "man up," refused.

Possessing a strong command of both Mandarin and English, Sabiu sought to fund his education by working. He taught English to a 17-year-old boy in Xinyu, Jiangxi Province, and later worked as a cargo inspector in Guangzhou's business district, earning small commissions for wrapping goods for export. However, his student visa explicitly prohibited legal employment in China, rendering all his work illegal. When Chinese immigration authorities intensified their crackdown on such activities, his meager earnings ceased, leaving him financially vulnerable and susceptible to the deceptive promises that ultimately led to his trafficking.

Sabiu's harrowing account is not an isolated incident but rather a stark illustration of the broader issue of Nigerian youths being trafficked into cyber-slavery camps across Asia. These operations exploit individuals by luring them with false promises of legitimate work, only to force them into illicit online activities, often under duress and threat. The use of social media platforms as a primary recruitment tool highlights the evolving tactics of human traffickers.

The rescue of Nigerian returnees from these cyber-scam compounds in Southeast Asia, with some arriving back in Abuja, as documented by NAPTIP (National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons), underscores the scale of this international crisis. The victims, often desperate for economic opportunities, find themselves trapped in a cycle of exploitation, their passports confiscated and their freedom curtailed, forced to perpetrate scams against others while their own lives are destroyed.

Source: Original reporting via Politics Spice