Slavery in Nigeria

Human trafficking involves the “act and attempted act of recruitment and transportation of persons (both male and female) within or across borders”.[1] Human trafficking is the fastest-growing form of slavery.[9] The majority of those forced into human trafficking are forced into the commercial sex trade or forced labor.[9] Human trafficking poses detrimental economic and social consequences in Nigeria.[10] There are different forms of human trafficking in Nigeria.[10] Human trafficking in Nigeria is increasing with both domestic and international human trafficking.[10] Nigeria has also become a transit corridor through which traffickers convey their victims to other countries”.[10]

There is no exact date for when human trafficking in Nigeria began but it began to rise in Nigeria in the early 1990s with the increase in drug trafficking and the Advanced Fee Fraud (419).[1] There have been significantly different levels of awareness of human trafficking as well as differences in how different Nigerian ethnic groups acknowledge the practice of human trafficking.[10] Due to the differences in perception of this practice, the Nigerian government has had difficulty in “coordinating resources to eradicate the menace in the country”.[10] It is also very difficult to identify victims of human trafficking due to the many forms of trafficking as well as lack of training on how to recognize victims.[9]

External trafficking, or international trafficking, involves the trafficking of people across "national, continental and international borders for the purpose of sex work, child labour and domestic service in exchange for monetary reward”.[1] Across international borders each year, between 800,000 and 4,000,000 people are trafficked, with women and children being the most common victims.[11]

Most Nigerian women and children victims of human trafficking end up externally trafficked to Europe, specifically Italy.[12] The Middle East and North America are also common places for trafficked persons from Nigeria to end up "for the purposes of adoption, domestic and agricultural labor, and for the sale of their human body parts".[11] Children victims of human trafficking from Nigeria often are trafficked in Nigeria or other African countries.[11] Human trafficking is a significant transnational crime, which is seen as similar to a modern day slave trade.[11]

Edo state is recorded to have the highest percentage of externally trafficked victims in Nigeria.[10]

The most prevalent occurrence of external human trafficking for exploitative purposes is in Edo (20.4%), Rivers (8.6%), Cross River (7.1%), Anambra (6.8%), Delta (6.4%), Bayelsa (5.7%), Ebonyi (5.4%), and Imo (3.2%).[10] The Federal Capital Territory (5.7%) and Borno state (5.0%).[10]

Internal trafficking, or domestic trafficking is the “recruitment and transportation of persons within the borders of a country, either from rural to urban areas or from one State to another, for purposes of sex work, child labor, or domestic services”.[1]

The most prevalent existence of internal human trafficking for labor occurs in Benue (16.4%), Akwa Ibom (13.2%), Kogi (9.5%), Kano (4.1%), Jigawa (4.1%), Borno (3.6%), Edo (3.6), Kaduna (3.6%), Kwara (3.6%) and Niger (3.6%) states.[10]

Nigerian women are trafficked mainly for the purpose of sexual exploitation.[13] They are mainly externally trafficked.[13] The number of Nigerian victims of human trafficking is one of the highest in Western Europe.[13]

This trafficking crisis in Nigeria is caused by socioeconomic factors.[14] Religion, with an Islam majority in the North and Christian majority in the South, has also played a key role in conflict throughout Nigeria resulting in poverty.[15]

Voodoo orjuju co-exists in Nigeria along with Christianity and Islam.[13] Voodoo affects Nigerian human trafficking since “a priest connected to a voodoo shrine has the power to manipulate outcomes in people's lives”.[13] There is a large extent of control on women by the juju ritual.[13] The priests typically operate with the mafia in Nigeria, and many priests are even paid by the mafia.[13] Thus, this leads to a stronger hold over women since the mafia then threaten the victims and their families if the girls fail to operate.[13] The Nigerian mafia “handles the travel documents and transportation to Europe” and from here the madams purchase the girls for work.[16]

Most of the human trafficking of women is controlled by other women.[17] Victims come from the 'madams', who act as female pimps, and are most often former prostitutes.[17]

These madams own girls until they have repaid their debts.[13] Madams pay for the transportation of the girl who they are recruiting.[13] An incentive for these girls is the future chance of obtaining an income as a madam, resulting in a cycle of exploitation.[13]

This is an extremely prominent practice in Nigeria today, with one third of women having been approached by a madam before.[16]

Boko Haram plays a large role in the trafficking of women in Nigeria by kidnapping girls and forcing them into slavery.[18] Boko Haram has kidnapped more than 1000 children in Nigeria since 2013 according to UNICEF.[19] One of the main kidnappings, known as the Chibok school girls kidnapping, occurred in Borno State where Abubakar Shekau released a video stating he "would sell 276 Nigerian girls into slavery".[20]

In Nigeria, there are two main types of child slavery: forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation.[9] It is hard to identify child slavery in Nigeria due to the ambiguity between work labor and family chores.[21]

Nigerian children are forced into the types of labor including agricultural labor, “domestic servitude, carpet making, jewelry making, clothes making, camel jockeying, and war (as child soldiers).[9] Nigerian children are also forced into mining where they are put at extreme risk due to the rigorous labor required.[21]

There seems to be a high correlation between “childhood sexual abuse and child prostitution in Nigeria”.[9] This type of child slavery may include "prostitution, pornography, sex tourism, sex rings, nude dancing or modeling, and sexual exploitation of child domestic servants”.[9]

The Nigerian government recognizes that “the crime of trafficking in persons poses a major threat to Nigeria’s development and stability, and that it poses a major threat to its values and national economy”.[11] Thus, many efforts have been made to combat this issue. The National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons (NAPTIP) was created to combat human trafficking in 2003.[11] This agency is involved in the punishment of human traffickers, the investigation of officers, and the reintegration of victims into society.[11]

International treaties that Nigeria has signed include: The United Nations Convention Against Transnational Crime, the Protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, and the Protocol Against Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms.[11]

There have been some international efforts to address the problems of modern slavery in Nigeria.[22]

In Geneva, Switzerland, 70 queens and wives of heads of state, along with many other important international figures, attended a conference on the plight of rural women in Third World countries, hoping to address the issues women face.[22]

Modern slavery can occur due to the amount of debt some African countries have, including Nigeria.[23] One effort to fix this was by the Bush administration by cancelling the debts of 18 countries, including Nigeria.[24]

The Jubilee movement also cancelled the debts of 50 or more countries, including Nigeria.[24]