While the Italian far right has attempted to criminalize African migrants through the denunciation of the « Nigerian Mafia », very little is known about Nigerian criminal organisations. Called « confraternities » or « cults » these organisations prohibited by the Nigerian law have been described as student societies, secret clubs or mafia, while they claim to be charities. The talk will present the very first findings of an ongoing research on the globalisation of these groups. It relies on judicial documents as much as on interviews with victims and members in Europe, Brazil, and Nigeria. I will analyse their involvement in varying illegal activities that range from human trafficking to drug smuggling and discuss how globalisation affects their trajectories and organizations.