CHILD TRAFFICKING IN NIGERIA

Child trafficking is the act of trafficking, which means the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons. Human trafficking is defined in the UN Trafficking in Persons Protocol, which supplements the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, as “the recruitment, transport, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a person by such means as threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud or deception for the purpose of exploitation”.

Children account for 27% of all the human trafficking victims worldwide, and two out of every three child victims are girls. Sometimes sold by a family member or an acquaintance, sometimes lured by false promises of education and a “better” life — the reality is that these trafficked and exploited children are held in slave-like conditions without enough food, shelter or clothing, and are often severely abused and cut off from all contact with their families.
Every country in the world is affected by human trafficking, and as a result, children are forced to drop out of school, risk their lives and are deprived of what every child deserves – a future.
As the world and Nigeria renew commitment to curbing human trafficking internally and externally.

YEJIDE GBENGA-OGUNDARE reports that implementation of laws and policies against human trafficking and forced labour remains a challenge in the fight to stop trafficking in persons. About 200,000 children are trafficked annually while in West Africa alone, an estimated 35,000 women and children are trafficked every year for commercial sexual exploitation. As the most populous country, Nigeria has been deemed one of the countries with the highest figure of human trafficking and has been adjudged a transit and destination point for human trafficking due to factors which include the poverty index, massive devaluation of the naira, illiteracy, high rate of unemployment, gender imbalance, civil and political unrest, the quest for greener pastures and cultural beliefs.

Some of the Agency that fight against traffic in Nigeria are
National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and Nigeria Police Force (NPF) enhance coordination on law enforcement efforts – including investigating illicit centers exploiting women in forced surrogacy – and prosecute suspects while respecting the rights of the accused
Section 23 (1) (a) of the trafficking in persons (prohibition) enforcement and administration act, 2015.
The Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, originally passed in 2003 and amended in 2005 and 2015, criminalizes human trafficking and related abuses. The Act provides trafficked persons with access to adequate health services and protection against discriminatory treatment. The Act establishes a National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (Part II), establishes Agency Transit Shelters for rescued trafficked persons, and establishes a Victims of Trafficking Trust Fund to provide compensation for victims (Part X). The Act provides protections against discriminatory treatment, barring discrimination on account of gender or sex or on the basis of the victim "having worked in the sex industry." Part IX, Section 61(a). The Act serves as implementing legislation for Nigeria’s international obligation under the Trafficking in Persons Protocol Supplementing the Transnational Organized Crime Convention (TOC), to which Nigeria became a signatory on December 13, 2000.
Human trafficking is about the greatest challenge of the 21st Century. Nigeria is currently the centre point of global human trafficking. Before the year 2003, trafficking in person was addressed in Nigeria through the instrumentality of the Criminal Code Act and the Penal Code Act in Southern and Northern Nigeria respectively.

In conclusion, in Nigeria these crimes are on the increase as many Nigerians are deliberately or ignorantly engaged in either of these crimes. Some desperate Nigerians leave the country through porous land borders, travel through Niger and Libya enroute Europe in search of better economic prospects. National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and Nigeria Police Force (NPF) enhance coordination on law enforcement efforts – including investigating illicit centers exploiting women in forced surrogacy – and prosecute suspects while respecting the rights of the accused Finalize the draft protocol to refer children identified in armed conflict to civilian authorities, screen for trafficking among those detained, and provide appropriate care for all those identified as victims, Increase public awareness programming to educate more of the population on human trafficking indicators, Expand shelter capacity for identified victims in coordination with other government entities, civil society, NGOs, international organizations, and the private sector, Increase the capacity of Nigerian embassies to identify and provide assistance to victims abroad, including by providing replacement travel or identity documents free of charge, Develop and implement a centralized database linking NAPTIP, NPF, and other relevant law enforcement agencies.



By,
Akintokun Ayomide
300 Law
Adeleke university
Member of Advocacy Research team.