Nigeria: At The Centre of Human Trafficking in West Africa
A Multi-Faceted Trafficking System
In early February, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) expressed concern about the scale of human trafficking and irregular migration, which affect Nigeria’s 774 local government zones. Because the country is simultaneously a place of departure, transit and arrival for illegal migrants, the correlations between migration and human trafficking are very varied. For example, many young Nigerian women become prostitutes in different European countries after falling into the hands of dangerous and unscrupulous traffickers. However, Nigeria is also a country where migrants, often from other African countries, are exploited. “A friend contacted me to tell me about an opportunity in Abuja. “As I know him well, I trusted him,” says Mamadou BORA, 25, from the Ivory Coast. It was an “opportunity” that soon turned into a nightmare. Although Mamadou had originally been promised €550 a month – four times his Ivory Coast salary – the first problems started as soon as he arrived in Abuja, when his “future bosses” told him to pay them €850 for various administrative formalities and several months' rent in advance.
After sending them the money, he received no work permit, and his passport and phone were confiscated. He was then locked up in a house with around forty undernourished Ivorians, who had been set to work to lure their relatives to Nigeria and extort money from them, or to convince friends or relatives to provide them with €3,000 to finance an alleged departure to Europe or Canada. “Life over there was very hard. We ate only once a day: three spoonfuls of gari (cassava semolina). You could go without a bowel movement for a whole month. We had to agree to everything they told us. We were under constant surveillance,” says Ibrahim COULIBALY, another victim. “As long as there is migration, there will be human trafficking networks. This is no exception. Even if its scale raises questions,” says Gaoussou KARAMOKO, General Manager of the DGIE (General Directorate for Ivorian Expats). Ibrahim and Mamadou were finally rescued from this trafficking network thanks to help from their embassy, and both were repatriated with eight of their compatriots. The same traffickers also targeted Burkinabe and Mali nationals, who were eventually extracted by their embassies.
Effective Technological Tools?
In 2019, the government invested 52 billion naira (31 million euros) in an electronic border surveillance system. The project was delayed and only started in 2022. It is in remote areas, where there are no Nigerian agents, that technology can and should be an asset. “Our maritime borders will be included in the first phase of the electronic border surveillance project, which will be completed in October 2024. Air and land are now under our command and control. Without technology, it is impossible to successfully safeguard your borders,” says Mr. TUNJI-OJO, Minister of Interior of Nigeria. [3] Since mid-December, 80 checkpoints in the country have been equipped with the system. It provides information and monitors the borders in real time, 24 hours a day, as well as defending: “This system is a vital tool in our fight against illegal immigration. By integrating cutting-edge technologies and international intelligence data, we not only pinpoint threats, but also prevent them from worsening. One of the most remarkable aspects of the e-border system is its role in identifying and capturing persons of interest. In the space of only a few weeks, the system, particularly the electronic gates installed in five international airports, has made it possible to identify and arrest individuals with criminal records or suspected of suspicious activities.” [4]
But its effectiveness seems limited: “The electronic border control system introduced to prevent illegal immigrants from entering the country did not deter their [Beninese] citizens from entering Nigeria,” says Abdulrasheed ABDULLAHI, former chairman of the Local Government Council of Baruten, a zone on the border with Benin supposedly closed for several years. [5] Aside from protecting borders, the new technologies are also used to centralise the information available to the various departments involved in combatting migrant trafficking in Nigeria. For example, a joint investigation database has been started up: a centralised platform enabling agents from different departments to exchange information. This coordinated approach makes it possible to rationalise investigations and provide a targeted response to large-scale trafficking.
Cooperation at Several Levels
Human trafficking, which largely takes place across borders, requires coordinated action. A few days ago, Civipol, the French Ministry of the Interior’s international technical cooperation operator, announced the launch of a project, the “Joint Operational Partnership (JOP) – Nigeria: Combatting migrant smuggling and human trafficking”, in partnership with the International Security Cooperation Department. The aim is to boost NAPTIP's capacities for investigation and prosecution, thus furthering the effective dismantling of trafficking networks, and to strengthen regional and international cooperation. With a budget of €1.4 million, the project will provide operational support, technical equipment and training. Immersion missions are also on the agenda to promote the exchange of good practices, particularly at regional level.
Another initiative that goes further back is the Action Against Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants in Nigeria Project (A-TIPSOM) developed by the European Union. Since 2019, it has had multiple goals: improving the governance of the migration sector in Nigeria, with a particular emphasis on combatting the trafficking and smuggling of migrants; preventing these crimes in the main countries of origin and transit; improving the protection, return and reintegration of victims of migrant trafficking and smuggling from Europe, and improving the identification, investigation and prosecution of traffickers and smugglers.
Lastly, there is also a focus on cooperation at national, regional and international level. Basing its approach on the 5 Ps strategy (Policy, Prevention, Protection, Prosecution and Partnership), A-TIPSOM meets regularly for discussions. All these cooperation initiatives are vital to stem a scourge that calls for private and institutional players to be involved.
[1] Article France 24: Des Ivoiriens victimes d’un réseau de traite d’êtres humains au Nigeria
[2] Article France 24: Des Ivoiriens victimes d’un réseau de traite d’êtres humains au Nigeria