Law against Human Trafficking in Nigeria

During the reporting period, NAPTIP reported that it was investigating cases involving officials allegedly involved in trafficking in human beings, but did not provide the number or details of these cases, compared to four investigations and seven prosecutions in the previous reporting period. The Government reported that three investigations into alleged complicit officials initiated during the previous reporting period were continuing. In an improvement over previous reporting periods, the government prosecuted and convicted three senior officials for trafficking offenses. The government prosecuted a middle civil servant in Sokoto State under TIPLEAA and the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act (VAPP) for procuring for sexual exploitation; the officer was sentenced to life imprisonment under the VAPP. The government also prosecuted and convicted two Delta State officials of attempting to traffic children; Both were sentenced to one year and six months in prison. These prosecutions were a remarkable improvement over previous inactions; Previously, the government said it had convicted only one official of complicity in human trafficking, despite 17 years of reports of trafficking and corruption related to human trafficking. At the national level, it convened the United Nations Model Conference for Secondary School Students on Combating Trafficking in Persons in 2009. In addition, a tour of nine states was launched to establish government working groups against human trafficking. In August 2009, NAPTIP organized a stakeholder workshop in Kaduna to define programme priorities and cost estimates for the implementation of the National Action Plan. Nigerian troops undergo mandatory training on human rights and human trafficking to prepare for peacekeeping missions abroad. The authorities closed two brothels in Lagos in the first quarter of 2010.

In these brothels, the authorities rescued 12 women, including six minor victims of human trafficking. One owner was sentenced to two years in prison and had to give up his hotel. [3] In February 2020, police managed to rescue 232 victims of sex trafficking and forced labor during a large-scale operation in Niamey, the capital. [12] On July 30, the World Day against Trafficking in Persons was celebrated around the world to raise awareness, promote vigilance, and gain support for the prevention of human trafficking, which was considered a global problem that crosses borders, with few countries immune. In 2014, the Executive Director of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Persons (NAPTIP), Beatrice Jedy-Agba, was honored by John Kerry in Washington DC for her work against human trafficking in Nigeria. [13] In March 2017, Dame Julie Okah-Donli was appointed Executive Director of NAPTIP and has made great strides in the fight against human trafficking in Nigeria. [14] The Borno state government continued to provide financial and material resources to the CJTF, a non-state self-defense militia that has used and recruited children in previous periods. The Borno State government provided administrative support to implement a 2017 action plan between the CJTF and an international organization to end the recruitment and use of children by the CJTF. The international organization did not examine any cases of recruitment and use of child soldiers by the CJTF during the reporting period. However, humanitarian organizations have been denied access to some areas of Borno State due to insecurity and restrictions imposed by security forces. The international organization had limited visibility in those areas. Since signing the action plan in 2017, the international organization has confirmed that the CJTF has separated 2,188 of the approximately thousands of children previously associated with the group.

In cooperation with a foreign donor, the government provided its troops with anti-trafficking training before they were deployed as peacekeepers. However, the government has not reported any investigative reports that 49 Nigerian soldiers deployed to Liberia as part of a UN peacekeeping mission in 2003-2017 exploited 58 women and children, including in sex trafficking. Providing well-being to victims of trafficking is a requirement of the 2003 Trafficking Enforcement and Administration Act, which was amended in 2005 and re-enacted in 2015 by former Nigerian President GoodLuck Jonathan. The law provides for a five-year prison sentence and/or a fine of US$670 for human trafficking. 10 years` imprisonment for trafficking in children for forced begging or falconry; and 10 years in prison for life for sex trafficking. [3] Child trafficking is also recognized as a criminal offence in the Child Rights Act 2003, which has only been enacted in 23 states in Nigeria. [3] Under the 2003 Trafficking in Persons Act, NAPTIP recorded 26 prosecutions and 25 convictions for trafficking offences in 149 reported investigations, with sentences ranging from two months to 10 years, offering only two defaulters the possibility of a fine. [3] Every year, thousands of people are lured and trapped in a form of neo-slavery and sexual slavery.

Some are even victims of organ predators. In fact, statistics from international organizations have shown that human trafficking has reached alarming levels in recent years, particularly in West Africa and especially in Nigeria, where there are many cases of local trafficking. As a result of these programmes, two brothels in Lagos were closed, with 12 women and 6 miners rescued in the first quarter of 2010. In February 2020, police also picked up 232 victims of sex trafficking and forced labor in the capital, Niamey. [3] [12] These recovered victims and others are usually housed in one of eight shelters designated by NAPTIP, with food, clothing, recreational activities, psychological counseling, and vocational training, depending on the needs of the victims at any given time. In such cases, victims remain in shelters for six weeks and are taken to civil society institutions for longer periods. In 2009, government spending on NAPTIP shelters was estimated at $666,000, and vocational training assistance was also provided to 70 victims. [3] In an effort to translate this approach into tangible and achievable results, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Human Beings (NAPTIP) issued a resolution on 28 December.

April 2022 brought together all actors in the fight against trafficking in human beings to publish several new strategic documents, including the National Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (2022-2026). The plan focuses on 5 thematic areas: (i) protection and support, (ii) prevention, (iii) research and evaluation, data management and statistics/monitoring and evaluation, (iv) law enforcement, prosecution and access to justice, and (v) partnership and coordination. Nigeria continued its efforts to protect victims of trafficking in 2009.