Nigeria   has   a   population   of   over   139  million,   the  most   largely   populated   country   in  West  Africa.     Since   independence   in   1960,  Nigeria   has   experienced   institutionalized  corruption   and   religious   and   cultural   violence.     Despite   Nigeria’s   abundance   of   oil,  debt   burdens   from   structural   adjustment   programs   have   caused   economic   volatility.    These   factors   have   created   turbulent   social   conditions   for   the   people   of   Nigeria,  especially  women  and  children.    Nearly  60%  of  its  people  live  below  the  poverty  line.    Unemployment   and   illiteracy   rates   are   high   partially   due   to   the   failing   education  system.    Gender  discrimination  is  a  commonality   in  the  country.    These  are  some  of  the   causes   of   what   has   now   become   a   feminization   of   migration   because   of   the  feminization  of  poverty  around  the  world.    Often  these  circumstances  lead  women  to  look  for  jobs  or  continuing  education  overseas.    The  hope  of  a  better  life  in  a  developed  country  and  to  be  able  to  send  money  back  home  to  their  family  becomes  enticing  to  many.    Sometimes,  children  are  sent  to  contribute  to  the  family’s  finances  or  to  better  themselves,   unknown   to   the   parents   of   the   realities   that   lay   ahead.     Orphans   are  particularly  vulnerable  to  being  trafficked  from  Nigeria.    These  factors  along  with  the  high   demand   in   the   sex   industry   and  well   organized   criminal   groups   already   in   the  country  are  the  main  reasons  for  sex  trafficking  of  Nigerians.        

Trafficking  for  the  purpose  of  sexual  exploita5on  is  an  appalling  malady  Nigeria  is  facing.    Sex  trafficking  is  the  most  common  form  of  human  trafficking  with  women  and  children  (mostly  females)  the  majority  of  the  vic5ms.    Other  uses  of  trafficked  vic5ms  include  domes5c  servants,  sweatshop  workers,  manual  labour  (farm  work),  child  soldiers  in  armed  conflict,  street  hawking,  begging  and  mining.    Unfortunately  Nigeria  ranks  high  among  countries  of  origin.  According  to  the  present  Chief  Execu5ve  of  the  Na5onal  Agency  Prohibi5ng  the  Trafficking  in  Persons  and  other  related  maJers  (NAPTIP),  “Nigeria  is  ranked  high  as  a  source,  transit  and  des5na5on  country  for  Human  Trafficking  and  efforts  must  therefore  be  doubled”  to  combat  it.

Various   groups   in  Nigeria  have  made   efforts   to   combat   this  menace.    We  shall   look  at   this  effort   from  three  broad  headings  –   the  Church,  The  Government  and  Others.  I  put  the  Church  first  because  as  far  as  I  know  the  Church  was  at  the  forefront  of  combating  human  trafficking  in   Nigeria.   This   was   through   the   activities   of   the  Women   Religious  (Catholic  Rev.   Sisters)   of  Nigeria.   In   1998,   the  Nigeria  Conference   of  Women   Religious   Leaders   were   alarmed   and   appalled   at   the   many  Nigerian  women  who  were   involved   in   the   sex   slavery   in   Europe.   In  Italy   alone,   there   were   15,000   of   them,   caught   up   –   mostly,   totally  against   their   wills   –   in   forced   prostitution!   It   is   not   easy   to   provide  exact   statistics   regarding   this   issue   because   of   its   clandestine   nature  but   records   show   that   thousands   of   women   and   girls   are   being  trafficked   from   developing   countries   and   brought   into   conditions   in  which  their  basic  human  rights  are  violated.  

These  Major  Superiors  of  the  Nigeria  Conference  of  Women  Religious  (Catholic  Rev.  Sisters)  were  so  touched  by  this  obvious  exploita5on  of  the  Nigerian  women  and  children  involved  in  women  trafficking  into  different  parts  of  the  world  and  the  home  country  that  they  felt  a  strong  need  to  put  up  a  fight  to  liberate  these  women  and  children  from  the  shackles  of  their  slave  masters.  This  strong  urge  to  liberate  our  women  and  children  led  to  the  establishment  of  the  CommiJee  for  the  Support  of  the  Dignity  of  Women  (COSUDOW)  in  April  1999  in  Benin  City.  Since  then,  the  CommiJee  has  been  in  the  forefront  of  figh5ng  this  new  form  of  slavery.  This  commiJee  has  rehabilitated  over  200  women  since  its  incep5on.

 Through  the  activities  and  influence  of  the  Women  Religious,  the  Catholic  Bishops  Conference  of  Nigeria  came  up  with  its  Pastoral  Letter:  –  Restoring  the  Dignity  of  the  Nigerian  Woman  –  which  condemned  human  trafficking  in  all  its  ramifications  and  other  acts  of  injustice  meted  out  to  women.  With  time,  other  antagonists  of  human  trafficking  came  on  stage.  Prominent  among  them  was  Mrs.  Titi  Abubakar  wife  of  the  onetime  Vice  President  of  Nigeria  and  founder  of  Women  Trafficking  and  Child  Labour  Eradication  Foundation  (WOTCLEF)  and  Mrs.  Eki  Igbinedion,  wife  of  the  former  executive  Governor  of  Edo  State,  to  mention  just  a  few.  These  women,  in  their  various  capacities  created  awareness  of  abuse  and  trafficking  in  women  on  the  international  scene.  Some  of  them  have  projects  discouraging  trafficking  in  young  women/girls.  And  most  importantly,  these  women  were  instrumental  to  getting  the  Nigerian  Government  to  legislate  against  human  trafficking  and  this  gave  birth  to  NAPTIP.  

   

Nigeria   has   made   remarkable   effort   in   combating   trafficking   in   persons  through  its  agency  -­‐  National  Agency  for  the  Prohibition  of  Traffic  in  Persons  and  Other   related  Matters   (NAPTIP)  which   came   into   being   on   the   26th   of  August,   2003,  with   the   appointment   of   its   pioneer   Executive   Secretary/Chief  Executive.   The   Agency   which   is   the   creation   of   Trafficking   in   Persons  (Prohibition)   Law   Enforcement   and   Administration   Act,   2003   is   the   Federal  Government   of  Nigeria’s   response   to   addressing   the   scourge  of   trafficking   in  persons  in  Nigeria  and  its  attendant  human  abuses  in  its  entire  ramification.  It  is   also   a   fulfillment   of   her   international   obligation   under   the   trafficking   in  persons   protocol   supplementing   the   Transnational   Organized   Crime  Convention  (TOC).    Nigeria  became  signatory  to  the  Transnational  Organized  Crime   Convention   and   its   trafficking   in   Persons   Protocol   on   the   13th  December,  2000.  Article  5  of  the  said  trafficking  protocol  enjoins  State  parties  to  criminalize  practices  and  conducts  that  subject  human  beings  to  all  forms  of  exploitation  which  includes  in  the  minimum  sexual  and  labour  exploitation.    

The   Bill   to   implement   this   protocol   in   our   national   penal  legislation   was   sponsored   as   a   private   member   bill   by  WOTCLEF,  a  non-­‐governmental  organization  initiated  and  founded  by  Mrs.  Titi  Atiku  Abubakar,  the  wife  of  one  time  Vice-­‐President  of  Nigeria.  The  Bill  was  subsequently  passed  by   the   National   Assembly   on   the   7th   of   July,   2003,   and  Presidential   Assent   given   on   the   14th   of   July   2003.   From  that  day,  the  law  took  effect    and  became  operational  throughout  the  country.    The  law  vests  the  power  to  arrest,  search  and  seize  on  Police,  Immigration,  Customs  and  NAPTIP  officials.  Similarly,  the  Federal  High  Court,  the  High  Court  of  a  State  and  the  High  Court  of  the  Federal  Capital  Territory  have  concurrent  jurisdiction  to  try  any  of  the  offences  under  the  law.      

 Victim  protection  is  also  central  to  the  law.  By  virtue  of  the  law,  a  victim  of  trafficking  in  persons  offences  is  to  be  identified  and  treated  as  a  victim  and  not  as  a  criminal  and,  where  the  circumstances  so  justify,  should  not  be  detained  or  imprisoned.  The  identify  and  personal  history  of  an  identified  victims  should  be  protected  from  the  public  by  investigators  counseling  officers  and  any  other  person(s)  authorized  to  work  closely  with  him/her.  A  victim  is  entitled  to  a  compensation  and  a  restitution  from  his/her  exploiter(s)  by  way  of  a  civil  action.  The  responsibilities  of  the  agency  towards  the  victim  of  trafficking  in  persons  are  well  set  out  in  section  50  of  the  law  as  amended.  A  fund  known  as  Victim  of  Trafficking  Trust  Funds  is  also  established  wherein  monies  realized  from  the  sale  of  confiscated  and  forfeited  assets  of  a  convicted  trafficker  would  be  paid  into  for  the  benefit  of  the  victim.    The  law  is  a  step  forward  in  addressing  crime  together  with  its  associated  problems  and  NAPTIP  has  made  remarkable  efforts  to  enforce  the  law.  

   

 

The  National  Agency  for  Prohibition  of  Traffic  in  Persons  and                          Other  Related  Matters  (NAPTIP)  added  to  its  record  the  conviction  of  Eight  (8)  traffickers  within  a  space  of  one  week  at  the    various  Federal  and  State  High  Courts  in  the  country    The  Director  Prosecution  and  Legal  Department  of  the  Agency,  Barrister  Opotu  Shaibu  who  disclosed  this  described  the  convictions,  which  bring  the  number  of  traffickers  convicted  by  the  Agency  to  fifty-­‐four  within  six  years  of  its    inception  as  a  landmark  achievement.    According  to  him,  recording  eight  convictions  within  one  week  is  a  no  mean  feat,  which  is  a  testimonial  of  the  Agency’s  determination  to  make  the  country  free  from  the  strangle-­‐hood  of  criminal  networks.  

In   the   recent   statistics  of   countries  and  effort   to  combat   trafficking   in  persons,  Nigeria  has  made  giant  strides.  This  is  clearly  stated  in  the  Press  Release  given  by  the  Executive  Secretary  and  Chief  executive  Officer  of  NAPTIP,  Bar.  Simon  Chuzi  Egede.  His  Speech  says  it  all  and  I  quote:          “Prior   to   the  existence  of   this  Agency,   (NAPTIP)   the  US  government  through   its  passage  of  the  2000  Trafficking  Victim  Protection  Act  as  amended,  demanded  US  Secretary  of  States  to  submit   an   annual   global   report   on   human   trafficking   to   their   congress.   The   objective   is  actually   to   stimulate   action   and   grow   partnership   geared   towards   the   elimination   of   the  scourge  of  human  trafficking  in  the  world.  As   a   result   of   this,   countries  were   assessed  based  on   standards   set   forth   in   the  Protocol   to  Prevent,  Suppress  and  Punish  Trafficking  in  Persons.  These  standards  have  been  expanded  by  NAPTIP   to   include   rehabilitation   and   reintegration   of   victim   back   into   the   society.   In   the  annual   report,   countries   are   assigned   and   rated   according   to   tiers   1-­‐3,   depending   on   the  degree  of  compliance  to  the  minimum  standards  for  the  elimination  of  human  trafficking.  Upon   emergence   of   NAPTIP   in   2003,   our   country   Nigeria   was   on   Tier   3  Watch   list.   This  meant   lack   of   compliance   with   the   minimum   standard   and   lack   of   adequate   legislation  criminalizing  the  act,  corruption  amongst  enforcement  officers,  lack  of  assistance  to  victims  and  no  political  will  to  stamp  out  the  scourge.  

     In  the  2005  Report,  the  country  was  removed  from  Tier  3  Watch  list  to  Tier  2,  which  indicated  palpable  effort  at  compliance  with  those  minimum  standards.  The  country  remained  in  Tier  2  Watch  list  for  a  while.  When  the  US  department  of  State  released  the  2009  Annual  Global  Trafficking  Report,  Nigeria  was  elevated  to  Tier  1.”It  stayed  on  Tier  1  till  2011  when  it  dropped  to  Tier  2.    However,  the  present  Chief  Executive  of  NAPTIP,  Barrister  Beatrice  Jedy  Agba  was  determined  to  work  Nigeria  back  to  Tier  1.  She  led  the  agency  to  rescue  about  104  victims  of  human  trafficking  trapped  in  Mali.  Most  of  them  are  being  rehabilitated.    In  addition  to  rescuing  these  victims  of  human  trafficking  they  also  secured  the  repatriation  of  9  suspected  traffickers  whom  they  later  prosecuted.  Altogether,  NAPTIP  had  convicted  about  143  Human  traffickers  as  at  December  2011.    OTHERS  There  are  several  NGOs  and  Women  Groups  in  Nigeria,  working  to  combat  human  trafficking.  Many  of  these  NGOs  function  under  the  umbrella  of  Network    Against  Child  Trafficking,  Abuse  and  Labour  (NACTAL).  

 PREVENTION  As  a  country  of  origin  emphasis  is  being  placed  on  PREVENTION  by  all  the  various  agencies  fighting  against  human  trafficking.    COSUDOW  has  come  up  with  an  Anti  –  Trafficking      HANDBOOK  for  schools:  STOP  TRAFFICKING  IN  WOMEN  &  CHILDREN:  It  is  a  Crime  against  Humanity.  This  book  is  being  used  in  Schools  and  campaign  programs  such  as  youth  centres  and  Churches.  

CONCLUSION    Despite   efforts   made   to   reduce   human  trafficking,   the   menace   seems   to   continue  unabated.   This   shows   there   is   need   for  massive   awareness   campaign   against   the  evils  of  human  trafficking.  Nigeria  continues  to   intensify   efforts   to   ensure   a   trafficking   –  free  society.  Human   trafficking   will   be   completely  eradicated   when   all   those   involved   as  countries   of   origin   transit   and   destination  sincerely  join  hands  to  fight  against  it.