NUC alerts VCs to Germany-based human traffickers luring students with internships

The National Universities Commission (NUC) has alerted vice-chancellors to a Germany-based human trafficking network that it says has been discovered to be luring tertiary institution students through internship offers.

In a memo dated June 6 and addressed to vice-chancellors nationwide, the commission said it received a circular from the office of the secretary to the government of the federation (OSGF) on the Indonesian police uncovering a Germany-based human trafficking network.

In a corresponding OSGF circular with the reference “736/S.5/V/153” addressed to the NUC and obtained by TheCable, the network is said to be in the business of luring students to Germany with illegal internships, trapping them in debt, and then trafficking them.

The OSGF said the human trafficking network goes by the name “Ferienjob”.

It said the trafficking scheme is run by two companies “PT CVGEN” and “PT Sinar Harapan Bangs (PT SHB)” under the guise of offering internships.

Undergraduates in Nigeria typically go on internships in a country like Germany through university exchange programmes, scholarships from government-backed schemes like the DAAD, and industry-sponsored projects overseen by multinational companies.

Other opportunities could be facilitated by NGOs, bilateral agreements, and professional associations with international partnerships.

For many undergraduate students in Nigeria, these internships provide a pathway to gain international experience, build networks, further their studies abroad, potentially secure employment, and emigrate permanently.

In July, the federal government said Nigeria’s education sector has suffered the most from the brain drain caused by such emigrations.

David Attah, director of the OSGF, said in the circular that this emigration syndrome makes Nigerian students especially vulnerable to the illegal activities of trafficking networks.

“It may be expedient to enhance the surveillance of companies making such offers in the country and sensitize Nigerians on the realities of the so-called sponsored internships/job offers abroad,” he added.

“With the rise in the japa syndrome by Nigerians using student visas and other means to travel abroad, steps need to be taken to protect the citizenry from falling victim to such schemes.”