In March 2025, Commissioner of Police Lydia Yaako Donkor was appointed Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service. Her appointment came at a time when cross-border crimes especially human trafficking, and cyber-enabled fraud were on the rise. Within weeks, she identified human trafficking as one of the country’s most urgent security and human-rights concerns.
Human trafficking had become a growing menace across Ghana, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, Benin, and beyond. The CID, under her direction, launched a review of investigations and victim data to assess the full extent of the problem.
The findings were disturbing. By mid-2025, Ghana had rescued a total of 131 victims of sex- trafficking and cyber-enabled fraud most originating from Nigeria and about 159 victims of labour trafficking. Another 113 Ghanaians were identified as victims of Q-NET-related recruitment scams originating from the sub region. These numbers reflected an increasingly complex network combining traditional trafficking with modern cybercrime.
In response, the Ghana Police Service intensified its transnational-crime strategy, strengthening intelligence gathering, dismantling recruitment rings, and improving coordination with other agencies. Within this institutional framework, COP Lydia Yaako Donkor championed proactive policing focused on early detection, data sharing, and victim protection.
At the INTERPOL African Regional Conference in South Africa, she became the first Ghanaian and only female officer elected to the INTERPOL Africa Committee. Using that platform, she initiated bilateral discussions with other police chiefs on collective action against trafficking. One of her key engagements was with Inspector-General of Police Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun of Nigeria Police Force. Both sides recognized the need for closer cooperation in intelligence-sharing, joint operations, and cross-border investigations.
This collaboration came to fruition in November. On November 6, 2025, COP Donkor led an eight-member Ghanaian delegation to Abuja for a high-level bilateral meeting with the Nigeria Police
Force. The meeting co-chaired by DIG Sadiq Abubakar of the Nigeria Police Force CID and COP Lydia Donkor, became the first formal dialogue between the two nations focused solely on combating human trafficking. Both countries examined the link between human trafficking and cybercrime, to find and agreed on more proactive and lasting solutions together.
The meeting concluded with a joint communiqué committing both countries to intensify intelligence exchange, coordinate operations, fast-track prosecutions, and rescue victims.
The CID continues to work closely with national and foreign partners to disrupt trafficking networks. Under COP Donkor’s leadership, specialized units now focus on cyber-enabled trafficking, technical crime investigations, and victim support.
The Abuja meeting marked a turning point for regional collaboration. It demonstrated Ghana’s determination to address trafficking through partnership and preventive policing, positioning the country as a credible force in the regional fight against modern slavery.
