Human Trafficking: Reps investigate rising cases, operations of syndicates

A plenary session of the House of Reps

The House of Representatives has ordered an investigation into the rising incidence of human trafficking in Nigeria, directing three of its committees to examine the activities of trafficking syndicates and the effectiveness of existing measures to combat the crime.

The House gave its Committees on Human Rights, Interior and Police Affairs four weeks to investigate the scale and patterns of human trafficking in the country and report their findings for further legislative action.

The resolution followed a motion moved by Dominic Okafor (APGA, Anambra) during Wednesday’s plenary session.

The motion, titled ‘Need to Investigate the Alarming Increase in Human Trafficking in Nigeria,’ raised concerns about the exploitation of women, children and other vulnerable groups through commercial sexual exploitation, forced labour, domestic servitude, forced begging and organ harvesting.

Moving the motion, Mr Okafor described human trafficking as “a grave violation of human rights and dignity”, involving the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons through force, coercion, deception and abuse of vulnerability for exploitation.

He said women, children and other vulnerable groups were disproportionately affected by trafficking, with victims subjected to “commercial sexual exploitation, forced labour, domestic servitude, forced begging, organ harvesting and other degrading abuse.”

The lawmaker attributed the growing vulnerability of Nigerians to poverty, unemployment, insecurity, displacement, irregular migration and the activities of organised criminal networks.

He expressed concern that victims were often deceived with false promises of employment, education, marriage and overseas opportunities, only to face exploitation, physical abuse, psychological trauma and, in some cases, death.

“Human trafficking networks operate across state and national borders, taking advantage of porous borders, inadequate public awareness, weak coordination among relevant agencies and difficulties in identifying and prosecuting offenders,” he said.

Mr Okafor acknowledged the efforts of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Immigration Service in combating trafficking but called for stronger operational capacity, funding, intelligence-sharing and victim-support mechanisms.

He also recalled the provisions of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015, which provides the legal framework for preventing trafficking, prosecuting offenders and protecting victims.

The House, consequently, urged the federal government to intensify nationwide efforts to prevent and combat human trafficking through the enforcement of existing laws, intelligence-led investigations and effective prosecution of traffickers and their collaborators.

It also called for stronger victim identification, rescue, rehabilitation, psychosocial support, legal assistance and reintegration programmes, particularly for women, children and other vulnerable persons.

The lawmakers further urged the government to address the underlying causes of trafficking, including poverty, unemployment, inadequate access to education and the exploitation of displaced persons.

The resolution also urged NAPTIP and other security and law-enforcement agencies to strengthen surveillance, intelligence-sharing and coordinated operations against trafficking networks, particularly those operating across state and international borders.

The House called on the Federal Ministry of Education, relevant state ministries, local government authorities, civil society organisations and community leaders to intensify public enlightenment campaigns on traffickers’ methods and the dangers of deceptive recruitment and irregular migration.

The motion was adopted without debate, with Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, who presided over plenary, referring it to the relevant committees for further legislative work.

The committees are expected to examine the current scale and patterns of human trafficking in Nigeria, the activities of trafficking syndicates, the adequacy of existing enforcement measures and the challenges confronting relevant agencies before submitting their report within four weeks.