What began as a family’s dream of giving their children a better future abroad ended in tragedy, financial ruin and a father’s life-changing illness.
A 70-year-old businessman, once healthy and hardworking, is now bedridden after suffering a stroke following the discovery that six young Children from his family had allegedly been trafficked into a cybercrime camp in Nigeria.
According to the family, everything started when an agent promised to facilitate the travel of the young men to Europe for better opportunities.
Trusting the promises, the family raised nearly ¢300,000 cedis, excluding additional pocket money, to sponsor the journey of six relatives, including four of the businessman’s biological children.
Initially, the family received brief phone calls from the young men claiming they had safely arrived at their destinations.
Then, the calls stopped.
For months, the family had no idea where they were or what had become of them.
The painful truth only emerged when the first child who had travelled managed to escape and return to Ghana.
He revealed that the group had never reached Europe. Instead, they had allegedly been trafficked into a cybercrime camp in Nigeria, where they were held hostage and forced to engage in online criminal activities against their will.
The shocking revelation had an immediate impact on their father.
Family members say the businessman collapsed after hearing the news and was rushed to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, where doctors diagnosed him with a stroke.
Despite spending two months in hospital, his condition showed little improvement, and the family was advised to continue his treatment outside the facility.
Determined to save the remaining victims, the family mobilised additional resources to hire private investigators and tracking experts from Black Angels Corporation.
Their efforts eventually paid off.
All five remaining victims were located and rescued from captivity in Nigeria and have since returned to Ghana.
But while the young men survived the ordeal, their father continues to battle the devastating effects of the trauma.
Anti-human trafficking advocates say the case is a stark reminder of the dangers of irregular migration and the increasingly sophisticated tactics used by trafficking syndicates targeting desperate young people and their families.
Bashiratu Kamal, Policy Advocate and Campaigner with the Network for Women’s Rights, is urging both parents and young people to thoroughly verify travel opportunities before handing over money or documents to agents.
The family is now sharing its painful experience in the hope that others will not become victims of similar schemes, warning that what appears to be a ticket to a better life can sometimes lead to exploitation, heartbreak and lasting trauma.
By Peter Quao Adattor/paqmediagh
