The Asylum and Refugee Rights Advocacy Foundation, also known as the Asylum and Refugee Rights Advocates (ARRA), has issued an urgent and solemn call to draw national and international attention to the worsening humanitarian crisis facing Nigerians and other foreign nationals trapped in Myanmar under conditions that amount to modern-day slavery.
ARRA in a statement signed by an Assistant Comptroller General of Immigration Service (Retired) who is the Founder and Executive Director of the Asylum and Refugee Rights Advocacy Foundation (ARRA), Dr. Okey James Ezugwu, Esq., said it “is gravely alarmed by the growing number of desperate jobseekers, including Nigerian citizens, who have fallen victim to transnational human trafficking syndicates operating across parts of Southeast Asia. These victims were deceitfully lured with promises of legitimate employment abroad, only to be trafficked into Myanmar—particularly volatile regions such as Myawaddy—where they are held in captivity within cyber-scam compounds, stripped of their dignity, freedom, and fundamental human rights.”
The non-governmental organisation said that reports reaching it “reveal a disturbing and consistent pattern. Unsuspecting young men and women, driven by unemployment and economic hardship at home, are recruited by agents who promise jobs in ICT, customer service, or other white-collar roles. Upon arrival, their passports are confiscated, their movements restricted, and they are subjected to coercion, threats, physical abuse, and forced labour, often under armed surveillance. Those who resist or are unable to meet imposed quotas are brutalised, detained, or handed over to local authorities, leading to imprisonment under harsh conditions.
“One of many stranded Nigerians (name withheld), in a distressing voice account received by ARRA, narrated how he and others were deceived into travelling to Myanmar by an agent who falsely assured them of job opportunities. Upon arrival, they discovered that the promises were lies, their legal status compromised, and their freedom effectively extinguished. With expired visas, no access to consular protection, and no means of livelihood, many have been forced into hiding, relying on the charity of churches and sympathetic locals for survival.
Dr Ezugwu, who is also a legal practitioner, said that the victim revealed that several Nigerians “are currently languishing in Myanmar prisons for immigration-related offences arising directly from their trafficking and abandonment. The fear, hunger, uncertainty, and helplessness in his plea underscore a humanitarian tragedy that can no longer be ignored.
“These Nigerians are trapped in a country already engulfed by political instability, armed conflict, and weak rule of law. They live in constant fear of arrest, abuse, and death. They cannot move freely. They cannot work legally. They cannot return home. For many, hope is fading.”
ARRA unequivocally stated that “this situation constitutes human trafficking, forced labour, and crimes against humanity, in clear violation of international human rights law, the Palermo Protocol, and other global anti-trafficking instruments to which Nigeria is a signatory.
In light of the foregoing, ARRA urgently called on the Federal Government of Nigeria, particularly the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “to rise to its constitutional and moral responsibility to protect Nigerian citizens wherever they may be. We demand the immediate activation of diplomatic channels to identify, secure, and evacuate all stranded and detained Nigerians in Myanmar.
“We further call on the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) to urgently intervene by coordinating a comprehensive rescue, documentation, and repatriation effort, in collaboration with Nigerian missions in the region, neighbouring countries, and relevant international partners.”
ARRA also appealed to international humanitarian organisations, “including the United Nations agencies, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and reputable global human rights bodies, to immediately step in to provide protection, legal assistance, emergency relief, and evacuation support for the victims trapped in Myanmar’s trafficking zones and detention facilities.
Beyond rescue and repatriation, ARRA stressed the urgent need for accountability, saying that “the trafficking networks, recruiters, and collaborators—both within and outside Nigeria—must be thoroughly investigated and prosecuted. Preventive measures must be strengthened through public awareness, stricter regulation of recruitment agents, and enhanced international cooperation to dismantle these criminal syndicates.
“Every day of delay places more Nigerian lives at risk. These are not statistics; they are sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, whose only “crime” was the search for a better life. Their voices are weak, but their suffering is loud. The Nigerian state and the international community must not turn away.
“ARRA will continue to document, advocate, and engage all relevant authorities until every stranded Nigerian is brought back home safely and with dignity.
“Nigeria must act. The world must act. And it must be now”, the statement concluded.
