August 10, 2022

NGO's Claim Nigerians Being Trafficked to Cyprus Over University Places

N NGO's have expressed concern about the illegal recruitment of Nigerian women to Cyprus under the guise of university admissions. The Turkish National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons asserted in a statement released last week that many young Nigerians who travel to the de facto Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is currently only recognised by Turkey, with the intention of enrolling in school there, are instead "locked up in private apartments and forced into prostitution."

According to the local NGO Human Rights Platform, between the ages of 18 and 30 comprised the majority of the Nigerian women who had called its anti-trafficking hotline since November 2021.

…we notice that the victims are travelling here with someone else's assistance in their home country... when someone approaches them, they claim to be representatives of specific universities in Cyprus…

"We notice that the victims are travelling here with someone else's assistance in their home country. When someone approaches them, they claim to be representatives of specific universities in Cyprus,” according to Fezile Osum, the Human Rights Platform's programme coordinator for anti-trafficking and refugee rights.

Students frequently enrol in schools, pay enrolment fees, and then upon arrival are forced into commercial sex. Osum asserted that despite the 22 universities in Northern Cyprus being aware of the issues -especially in light of the high absenteeism rate- the majority opt to do nothing.

The warning comes at the same time that the US government has drawn attention to cases of human trafficking involving foreign students in Cyprus and other nations like Australia, Japan, and Israel.

The 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report, released in July by the US State Department, evaluates how well each nation is doing at stopping trafficking and helping its victims. It emphasises incidents involving students as well.

Posted in News and tagged News, Nigeria, Cyprus, Turkish National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, Turkey, NGO Human Rights Platform
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