HUMAN TRAFFICKING | Beyond Awareness | Towards Action

Confronting Nigeria’s Human Trafficking Crisis: Beyond Awareness, Towards Action

As the world commemorates the 2025 World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, Nigeria finds itself grappling with a pervasive and increasingly complex human trafficking crisis. Under the UN's rallying theme “Human Trafficking is Organised Crime, End the Exploitation,” this moment calls for more than symbolic gestures, it demands transformative change.

A Disturbing Reality

Between 2020 and 2023, more than 200,000 trafficking victims were globally identified, with nearly half under the age of 26 and a quarter being children. Nigeria remains one of the epicenters of this crisis, especially affecting young women and children who are caught in a web of false promises and brutal exploitation.

Traffickers operate with startling sophistication, luring victims through fake job opportunities, foreign scholarships, and domestic work placements. Countries like Lebanon, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Malaysia frequently appear in these schemes. Alarmingly, newer tactics now involve coercion through digital loan apps, recruitment into scams across West Africa, and abusive constructs like “baby factories” and revenge pornography.

Challenges in Enforcement

Despite the existence of laws and agencies like the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), enforcement is sluggish and fragmented. In 2024 alone, 698 cases were investigated, including sex trafficking, labour exploitation, and other forms of abuse. Yet, survivors continue to face barriers to justice, rehabilitation, and reintegration.

Critical Perspectives for Deeper Reform

To confront trafficking holistically, we must incorporate additional dimensions that illuminate root causes and shape effective interventions:

Survivor-Led Insight

Survivors possess first-hand knowledge of how trafficking works, what red flags to look for and what escape routes may exist. Including them in policymaking, campaigns, and survivor services ensures strategies remain practical and impactful.

Regional & Global Collaboration

Human trafficking is transnational. Criminal syndicates span borders and use migration routes, global supply chains, and fintech platforms to operate. Nigeria must strengthen partnerships with West African neighbors and international bodies to dismantle these networks.

Youth Vulnerability

With a large population of unemployed youth, traffickers prey on desperation. Tackling unemployment, improving access to education, and ensuring secure online job listings can drastically reduce victimization.

Digital Exploitation

From social media to mobile apps, traffickers are exploiting digital ecosystems. Cybercrime laws and tech platform accountability need urgent upgrades to keep pace with these threats.

Socio-Cultural Sensitivity

Cultural myths, stigma, and gender biases often keep victims silent. Engaging religious leaders, traditional authorities, and grassroots educators can break these silences in respectful and powerful ways.

Labour Market Reform

Loopholes in labour protections allow trafficking to hide within legitimate industries, especially domestic work and international placement programs. Formalizing recruitment channels and regulating SMEs can reduce vulnerability.

Looking Ahead

The fight against trafficking requires coordinated national commitment. Enforcement must be proactive, not reactive. Technology should be leveraged to identify and disrupt networks, and legal migration options must be expanded to counter illegal routes.

Most importantly, Nigeria must adopt a victim-centred approach, one that prioritizes survivor protection, justice, and support while holding perpetrators accountable. As more survivors share their stories, they shine a light on the hidden corridors where trafficking thrives and guide the nation toward lasting solutions.