When Commissioner of Police Lydia Yaako Donkor was named Director‑General of the Criminal Investigations Department in March 2025, she inherited a surge of cross‑border crimes—especially human trafficking and cyber‑enabled fraud. Within weeks she flagged trafficking as the nation’s most urgent security and human‑rights challenge, ordering a full audit of CID investigations. The numbers that emerged were stark: by mid‑year Ghana had rescued 131 victims of sex‑trafficking and cyber‑fraud (most from Nigeria), 159 victims of labour trafficking, and another 113 Ghanaians caught in Q‑NET recruitment scams across the sub‑region.
Donkor’s proactive stance caught the eye of the INTERPOL African Regional Conference in South Africa, where she became the first Ghanaian—and the only female—elected to the INTERPOL Africa Committee. From that platform she pressed for joint action, culminating in a historic bilateral meeting in Abuja on 6 November 2025. Co‑chaired with Nigeria’s DIG Sadiq Abubakar, the eight‑member Ghanaian delegation signed a joint communiqué pledging intensified intelligence exchange, coordinated raids, faster prosecutions and robust victim‑rescue mechanisms. “We’re linking the dots between human trafficking and cybercrime to deliver lasting solutions,” Donkor said after the talks.
The partnership has already shown results. Earlier this year, joint operations with Nigerian authorities freed 76 Ghanaians from trafficking camps linked to a Q‑NET scheme, arresting seven suspects in the process ². Those rescued have been repatriated and are receiving psychosocial support, while the CID’s new specialized units now focus on cyber‑enabled trafficking, technical crime investigations and victim assistance.
What’s next? With the Abuja agreement, Ghana positions itself as a regional leader in the fight against modern slavery. Donkor’s blend of legal expertise, gender advocacy and sports‑sector connections—she chairs the Police Ladies FC and the GFA Safety & Security Committee—adds a unique, community‑focused dimension to the crackdown. As the CID continues to work hand‑in‑hand with national and foreign partners, the hope is that the “call‑as‑weapon” era will give way to a call‑for‑justice that protects the vulnerable and punishes the traffickers.