On a hot sunny afternoon, nothing else mattered to madam Ngozi but her newly built store purchased from the proceeds of hawking of oranges by her “employees” two minors, Adijat (12) and Toyin (10).
After a long day of selling, Adijat who was now on her fourth tray of oranges for the day was led home by a man shouting at the top of his lungs, “show me where that wicked woman is who made you sell oranges to the point of almost being knocked down by a vehicle instead of sending you to school.”
Wetin happen? Abeg, who dey make all that noise for here (Who is making all that noise here), Madam Ngozi echoed.
The young man immediately accused Madam Ngozi of child trafficking by hiring underage children to sell oranges for her rather than sending them to school whilst she relaxed in the comfort of her newly built shop.
In her defense, she stated that she had done nothing wrong and was only assisting the children in establishing a life and earning a living so that they could contribute to the well-being of their families because they were poor and could not be sent to school.
The audacity and response of Madam Ngozi is a reflection of how human trafficking is seen today; a profitable, low-risk industry in which traffickers can operate with relative impunity. In reality, Madam Ngozi likely does not consider herself a trafficker or as an accessory to trafficking.
Trafficking is not only sexual exploitation, trafficking includes child labor, forced marriage, illegal adoption, violence against a person, and more.
According to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), the agency received 570 trafficking cases between January and June 2021. By June of 2021, NAPTIP rescued a total of 741 victims. 85 percent of the rescued victims were female, and 45 percent were under the age of 18. Only 29.5 percent of the total cases received were trafficked outside of Nigeria, with the remainder occurring within the country.
Of the 24 categories of cases received, Foreign Travels that Promote Poverty was the most reported category, accounting for 21.6 percent of total cases received, followed by Procurement of Persons for Sexual Exploitation (14.9 percent), Buying or Selling of Humans for the Purpose of Exploitation (10.9 percent), Employment of Child as Domestic Worker and inflicting Grievous Harm (8.9 percent), and Child Abuse (8.1 percent).
Similarly, Procurement for Foreign Travel that Promotes Prostitution had the highest number of victims rescued, a total of 193 out of the 741 victims rescued fall under this category, all of whom were females. Child abuse came next, with 123 rescued victims (26 males and 97 females), followed by internal procurement for sexual exploitation or prostitution with 95 rescued victims.
In the breakdown of victims according to states of origin, Benue state had the most rescued victims (91), with 79 percent of them being females. Akwa Ibom had 67 rescued victims who were 82 percent females, Kano was third with 57 rescued victims with 83 percent of them being females, Ogun had 55 rescued victims, with 95 percent of them being females, and Sokoto State had 44 rescued victims, with 84 percent of them being females.
Why Females are More Vulnerable to Trafficking
Women and girls make up a large proportion of trafficked victims because they are more likely to be trafficked for sexual exploitation or domestic servitude. There are several factors that contribute to female trafficking. Vulnerability, particularly as a result of abuse, combined with high demand for sexual services are two major factors that have recently received increased attention.
Other reasons include unequal economic status, the fact that more women live in poverty and bear the financial burden of caring for children makes them more vulnerable to exploitation.
Research shows that women and children, particularly girls, are trafficked in Nigeria for different kinds of labor, including prostitution and sexual exploitation. Females are most preferred for help with domestic chores and so young girls are subjected to various forms of labor by traffickers.
According to the US Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report, the Nigerian government does not entirely fulfill the minimal standards for the elimination of human trafficking, but it has shown overall increased efforts during the previous reporting period, upgrading it to a Tier 2. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA), defines Tiers through which countries can be classified depending on the government’s attempt to fulfill the TVPA’s minimal requirement for human trafficking elimination. Tier 1 countries have made significant efforts to address the problem and fully meet the TVPA’s minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, whereas Tier 2 countries have not fully met the TVPA’s minimum standards but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards.
In 2003, the Federal Government of Nigeria passed the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Law Enforcement and Administration Act. The law prohibits all types of human trafficking and, for the first time, imposes harsh punishments for those who engage in it. The government amended the Act in 2015, increasing the punishment for trafficking offenders from a minimum of five years in jail and a fine of one million nairas to life imprisonment.
Despite the fact that Nigeria still has a long way to go, it is committed to ending human trafficking. 18 out of 36 states have signed the Trafficking in Persons Prohibition Law