1 hour ago
1
…11-Year NAPTIP Data Reveal Shifting Routes
…Ghana Second-Highest Destination For Trafficked Nigerians
…Libya’s Dominance Weakens, S/Arabia Hits Record High
In 2022, about 8 in 10 Nigerians intercepted by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) while being trafficked abroad were headed for Libya. Three years later, Libya remained the leading destination, but a different route had emerged. Ghana became the second most common destination in the agency’s records.
An analysis of 11-year NAPTIP data obtained by THE WHISTLER shows a shift in the destinations of victims intercepted by Nigerian authorities. While the long-established Libya corridor remains active, interceptions involving Ghana and Saudi Arabia have increased. This is the first of a three-part investigation.
In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic had shut borders and grounded much of international travel, NAPTIP intercepted 34 Nigerians headed for Saudi Arabia.
They were not tourists or students.
They were people, mostly women, allegedly being trafficked into domestic work under the kafala sponsorship system, which Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have said creates conditions that can amount to forced labour and modern slavery.
Five years later, the number had risen to 89, the highest recorded in NAPTIP’s data. Alongside that increase was another notable figure. NAPTIP intercepted 117 Nigerians headed for Ghana, a destination that had barely featured in previous years.
THE WHISTLER analysed destination-country data covering 2015 to 2025. The figures suggest trafficking routes are changing in ways that have received little public attention.
Decline Of Libya Route
For much of the period covered by the data, Libya dominated Nigeria’s trafficking routes.
In 2022, NAPTIP intercepted 1,300 Nigerians headed for Libya. That represented 83.2 per cent of all victims intercepted while being trafficked abroad that year.
For years, the Libya corridor, through the Sahara Desert and across the Mediterranean towards Europe, became synonymous with dangerous migration, detention, exploitation and attempts to reach Europe.
By 2024, interceptions involving Libya had dropped to 301. In 2025, they stood at 311.
The route remains the largest destination in NAPTIP’s records, but it no longer accounts for the overwhelming majority of cases.
At the same time, Ghana began appearing more frequently in the data.
NAPTIP recorded 42 interceptions involving Ghana in 2022. That rose to 89 in 2023, dipped to 65 in 2024, and climbed to 117 in 2025.
Although Libya still recorded nearly three times as many interceptions in 2025, Ghana ranked ahead of Saudi Arabia and every other destination in the dataset.
The Ghana Route
Unlike the Libya corridor, the Ghana route is not well documented.
The movement of trafficking victims through Libya towards Europe has been extensively documented by INTERPOL, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), journalists and humanitarian organisations.
Comparable public documentation does not yet exist for the Ghana route.
Ghana shares an overland corridor with Nigeria through Benin Republic, making travel by road relatively easy. NAPTIP also recorded 21 interceptions involving Benin Republic in 2025, indicating continued movement along that corridor.
The data obtained by THE WHISTLER does not indicate whether the 117 victims intercepted while heading to Ghana were destined for exploitation within Ghana or whether the country was serving as a transit point.
West Africa’s Atlantic coast has documented migrant smuggling routes towards Europe, making onward movement from Ghana possible. However, the NAPTIP data alone cannot establish whether that is occurring.
That uncertainty is significant because the number of interceptions suggests the route deserves closer scrutiny.
Saudi Arabia Continues To Rise
Saudi Arabia also stands out in the data.
NAPTIP recorded 34 interceptions involving Saudi Arabia in 2020. After falling to three in 2021, the figures rose steadily to 19, 35, 79 and then 89 in 2025, the highest recorded during the 11 years.
With 89 interceptions in 2025, Saudi Arabia ranked third behind Libya and Ghana.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have documented how Saudi Arabia’s kafala sponsorship system can expose migrant domestic workers to forced labour and other forms of exploitation.
Many Nigerian women trafficked under the promise of domestic work have featured prominently in reports on abuse within the system.
The continued increase in interceptions suggests the trafficking route to Saudi Arabia remains active despite years of scrutiny.
Declining Interceptions And Changing Pattern
NAPTIP intercepted 1,562 foreign-bound trafficking victims in 2022. By 2025, that number had fallen to 665, a decline of about 57 per cent.
At a glance, the figures suggest a significant reduction. However, Libya accounts for much of that decline.
Excluding Libya, NAPTIP recorded 262 interceptions involving other destinations in 2022. By 2025, that figure had increased to 354.
The data does not explain why.
This suggests fewer Nigerians are being trafficked overall while traffickers increasingly use destinations outside Libya.
It also suggests trafficking networks have shifted to routes that are harder for authorities to detect.
The figures represent only victims intercepted by authorities, not victims who may have completed the journey undetected.
THE WHISTLER wrote the Director General of NAPTIP, Binta Lami Adamu Bello, to explain the paper’s observations on its official data.
The request was submitted on September 22 and copied to the agency’s spokesman, Vincent Adekoye.
Mr Adekoye promised to respond to our request, but he never did despite repeated reminders.
Part two of the analysis will be published next Saturday. It examines how the forms of trafficking have changed and whether Nigerian authorities are adapting.
English (US) ·