Ghana, Nigeria deepen collaboration to fight human trafficking

The Ghana Police Service and the Nigeria Police Force have reaffirmed their commitment to intensifying joint efforts to combat human trafficking and other related transnational crimes across West Africa.

Speaking at a high-level bilateral meeting held in Abuja, Nigeria, the Director-General of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, COP Ms. Lydia Yaako Donkor, expressed appreciation to the Nigerian authorities for their collaboration and reaffirmed Ghana’s commitment to enhancing intelligence sharing and coordinated enforcement actions.

Discussions focused on emerging forms of human trafficking, their increasing connection to cyber-related crimes, and the need for stronger regional cooperation to address the growing number of victims in the sub-region.

Both parties agreed to establish a Joint Task Force (JTF) to handle cross-border trafficking cases, appoint focal officers for real-time information exchange, and develop standard protocols for victim repatriation and referral.

The Deputy Inspector-General of the Nigeria Police Force, Sadiq I. Abubakar, commended Ghana’s CID Director-General for her proactive initiative in proposing the meeting during the INTERPOL Africa Regional Conference held in South Africa earlier this year.

Both delegations also agreed to launch joint awareness campaigns targeting youth and border communities and to convene a high-level meeting of West African Police Chiefs to harmonize regional strategies against trafficking.

The meeting concluded with the signing of a communiqué reaffirming the shared commitment of Ghana and Nigeria to dismantle human trafficking networks, protect victims, and sustain bilateral dialogue under the frameworks of ECOWAS and INTERPOL.