The Nigerian government has made significant progress in combating human trafficking, rescuing more than 25,000 victims and securing 755 convictions since 2003, through a multi-pronged approach with the support of international partners
Key Insights:
-
-
-
Regional collaboration and international partnerships are essential for combating transnational human trafficking, with Nigeria’s cooperation with neighboring countries and support from organizations like ICMPD are vital for cross-border intelligence sharing and victim protection.
-
A multidisciplinary approach to combatting human trafficking, like the one in Nigeria, results in the best approach for measurable success.
-
Prevention through education is crucial, as demonstrated by targeted school programs like STEAP that reach approximately 100,000 students across five Nigerian states to build awareness and resilience among vulnerable youth before exploitation occurs.
-
-
Human trafficking, along with many other cross-border crimes, is a highly complex issue, and it has been one of the fastest-growing, more lucrative shadow industries globally for trafficking syndicates. Owing to its multi-issue dimensions, human trafficking is a challenge to tackle head-on, but the Nigerian government has been showing success in numbers.
Since 2003, at least 25,550 victims of human trafficking and more than 2,050 survivors of violence have been rescued by Nigeria’s National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP). The agency also secured a total of 755 convictions, highlighting its commitment to protecting vulnerable populations in the country and holding perpetrators accountable, including those acting across borders. Last year alone, NAPTIP investigated 698 cases, including 333 related to sex trafficking and 172 to labor trafficking.
Beyond what these numbers show, NAPTIP has become a model in Africa as a one-stop agency for all issues of human trafficking — ranging from case investigation, prosecuting offenders, raising awareness on the risks, and providing protection and assistance to victims and survivors. To date, NAPTIP has also been operating 14 shelters across its 34 regional offices across Nigeria, providing safe havens and comprehensive support services to 1,587 victims in the last year alone.
Multidisciplinary agency in Nigeria key for success
Nigeria signed the United Nations’ Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and the Palermo Protocol in 2000. In 2003, its Parliament enacted the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Law Enforcement and Administration Act (TIPPLEA), and NAPTIP was concurrently born.
As a multidisciplinary agency, NAPTIP works closely with other law enforcement agencies, as well as judiciary, civil society, and international partners to disrupt trafficking networks. Through legal reforms, victim support, increased enforcement, and grassroots-level advocacy, NAPTIP has focused on taking down trafficking networks that target vulnerable populations, especially children and youth.
Join us for a free online Webinar: World Day Against Trafficking in Persons to learn more about the complexities of human trafficking, the impact on victims, and effective strategies for prevention and intervention
In 2015 the TIPPLEA was re-configured into the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act (TIPPEA) to tackle newly emerging trafficking trends, strengthen the law by removing the option for trafficking offenders to pay fines, and provide a benchmark for sentencing offenders via other laws. Since then, the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), an international research and policy institute, has been a key supporter of NAPTIP’s operations with a focus on prevention, protection, and capacity development. Through its implementing role of European Union-funded Demand Driven Facility (DDF) of the FMM West Africa project of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), ICMPD has been collaborating with NAPTIP and other in-country partners to:
-
-
- integrate human trafficking issues into the curricula of Basic and Senior Secondary Schools, as well as into the minimum standards of Colleges of Education in the country;
- develop teacher’s guides and provide training of trainers for Colleges of Education; and
- produce training curriculum for NAPTIP personnel and training manuals for the agency’s trainers.
-
By 2020, the partnership expanded across Nigeria’s neighbors in the region. Through a bilateral accord, NAPTIP collaborated with its Niger counterpart to deal with trafficking through joint operations, including public awareness campaigns and exchange of intelligence. With ICMPD’s support, this partnership has been providing support to victims of human trafficking in-country, and for the return of rescued Nigerian victims from its northern neighbor.
“ICMPD has been an ally in our counter-trafficking engagements in Nigeria,” says NAPTIP Director-General Binta Adamu Bello. “They have supported us in developing policy documents, in deepening our awareness-raising (especially in schools), and in various activities to protect and assist victims and survivors of trafficking. Above all, we are enjoying a lot of collaboration with some of our neighboring West African countries through their support.”
Awareness, education & collaboration with neighbors helps prevention
As in many other trans-national crimes, human trafficking preys on the vulnerable, especially on young people. Hence, one of the flagship projects of ICMPD’s support to NAPTIP is the School Anti-Trafficking Education and Advocacy Project (STEAP), funded by the Government of the Netherlands. It raises awareness among school-age children and their communities and fosters collaboration with civil society organizations to equip the students in recognizing the risks of trafficking. It also helps them avoid such risks, promote safe behaviors, and create a protective environment that reduces their own vulnerabilities before exploitation can occur.
Part of this is the joint ICMPD-NAPTIP Vanguards in 250 schools across the five Nigerian states of Benue, Delta, Edo, Enugu, and Ogun, targeting approximately 100,000 students. In addition to STEAP activities, the Vanguard enables them to become peer educators, helping them become better informed, more vigilant, and resilient advocates in preventing trafficking in their schools and communities.
Beyond STEAP, the Nigerian government works more broadly on anti-trafficking efforts through the Anti-Human Trafficking and Violence Against Persons (TIPVAP) project. Also funded by the Dutch Government and implemented by ICMPD, TIPVAP looks to address human trafficking by upscaling capacity of the investigators and prosecutors, establishing effective victim referral systems, and raising public awareness. The initiative also improves the investigation and prosecution of cases, and ensures victims receive timely, coordinated support including legal aid and protection services — and its community outreach enjoins communities to recognize and report these crimes.
“Addressing the diverse social, economic, and legal factors that drive human trafficking particularly by reaching children and youth, who are among the most vulnerable is a key pillar of our collaboration with NAPTIP in Nigeria and across the wider West African region,” says a spokesperson for STEAP at ICMPD. “By supporting NAPTIP’s efforts, ICMPD is able to apply its technical expertise and unique perspective on migration to meaningful, practical work. We remain firmly committed to partnering with the Nigerian government in this vital endeavor.”
Given its strategic location in the West African region, Nigeria is well-positioned to foster cross-border cooperation and intelligence sharing, while harmonizing victim-protection legal frameworks to keep people safe from trafficking. As it continues to implement its National Action Plan on Human Trafficking, the joint efforts of NAPTIP and ICMPD remain crucial in addressing the evolving challenges of human trafficking and ensuring the protection of vulnerable populations.
You can learn about more ways to combat human trafficking successfully here
