EASO
Nigeria
Trafficking in
Human Beings
Country of Origin
Information Report
April 2021

More information on the European Union is available on the Internet (http://europa.eu)
PDF: ISBN: 978-92-9465-045-0

doi: 10.2847/777951

BZ-08-21-054-EN-N© European Asylum Support Office, 2021
Cover photo, Benin city, Nigeria © Sine Plambech
Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. For any use or reproduction of photos orother material that is not under the EASO copyright, permission must be sought directly from the copyrightholders.

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

Acknowledgements
EASO acknowledges as the drafter of this report:
The Netherlands, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Country of Origin (COI) unit
The following departments and organisations have reviewed the report:
Norway, Landinfo
Switzerland, Federal Department of Justice and Police, State Secretariat for Migration (SEM),
Division Analysis (Länderanalyse SEM)
The following external experts have reviewed the report:
Dr Corentin Cohen. Corentin Cohen is a researcher and has been Oxford/SciencesPo’s
postdoctoral fellow in 2019-2020. He is a specialist of Nigeria and has researched on networks ofsexual exploitation and Nigerian criminal actors in Europe since 2016.
Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation (ACCORD)
It must be noted that the review carried out by the mentioned departments, experts or organisations
contributes to the overall quality of the report, but does not necessarily imply their formal
endorsement of the final report, which is the full responsibility of EASO.

3

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

Contents
Acknowledgements................................................................................................................................. 3Contents .................................................................................................................................................. 4
Disclaimer................................................................................................................................................ 6
Glossary and abbreviations ..................................................................................................................... 7
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 8
Methodology ...................................................................................................................................... 8
Defining the terms of reference ..................................................................................................... 8
Collecting information.................................................................................................................... 8
Quality control................................................................................................................................ 8
Structure and use of the report .......................................................................................................... 9
Map ....................................................................................................................................................... 10
1. Human trafficking within and from Nigeria ...................................................................................... 11
1.1 Trafficking in human beings at domestic level ........................................................................... 11
1.1.1 Exploitation and trafficking of children ............................................................................... 12
1.1.2 Sexual exploitation of women and girls in Nigeria .............................................................. 13
1.1.3 ‘Baby factories’ .................................................................................................................... 14
1.2 Cross-border trafficking in human beings towards third countries ........................................... 14
1.2.1 Organ harvesting ................................................................................................................. 15
1.3 Cross-border trafficking in human beings towards Europe........................................................ 15
1.3.1 Nigerian victims of sex trafficking in Europe ....................................................................... 16
1.3.2 Pregnant trafficking victims ................................................................................................ 21
1.3.3 Male Nigerian victims of human trafficking in Europe........................................................ 22
2. Modus operandi of THB in Nigeria for sexual exploitation in Europe .............................................. 25
2.1 Structure and size of Nigerian trafficking networks ................................................................... 25
2.1.1 Madams ............................................................................................................................... 26
2.1.2 Organised crime networks and cults ................................................................................... 27
2.2 Means of recruitment for trafficking .......................................................................................... 30
2.2.1 Recruitment in Nigeria ........................................................................................................ 30
2.2.2 Smuggling model ................................................................................................................. 31
2.2.3 Recruitment along the way ................................................................................................. 32
2.3 The debt system and the use of juju .......................................................................................... 33
2.3.1 Juju and oath-taking ............................................................................................................ 34

4

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

2.3.2 Oba of Benin and the cursing of sex traffickers .................................................................. 35
2.4 Travel to and within Europe ....................................................................................................... 37
2.4.1 Routes to Europe ................................................................................................................. 37
2.4.2 Abuse on the way to Europe ............................................................................................... 38
2.4.3 Secondary movements in Europe ....................................................................................... 39
3. Reintegration of returnees................................................................................................................ 43
3.1 Repatriation (voluntary and forced return)................................................................................ 43
3.1.1 Number of Nigerian returnees ............................................................................................ 43
3.1.2 Overview of return programmes ........................................................................................ 44
3.1.3 Reception and short-term assistance to returnees ............................................................ 46
3.2 Community attitudes towards returnees, including sex trafficking victims ............................... 47
3.3 Relocation in Nigeria................................................................................................................... 49
3.4 Shelter, rehabilitation and reintegration support ...................................................................... 50
3.4.1 Shelter for victims of trafficking .......................................................................................... 50
3.4.2 Economic reintegration support for trafficking victims ...................................................... 54
3.4.3 Family reunification............................................................................................................. 58
4. Protection of returnees and prosecution of perpetrators ................................................................ 59
4.1 Retaliation................................................................................................................................... 59
4.1.1 Prevalence of reprisals against victims themselves ............................................................ 59
4.1.2 Reprisals against family members ....................................................................................... 61
4.1.3 Reprisals against male returnees ........................................................................................ 62
4.2 Retrafficking................................................................................................................................ 62
4.3 Prosecution of traffickers ........................................................................................................... 62
4.3.1 Convictions of traffickers..................................................................................................... 63
4.3.2 Reasons behind the rarity of convictions ............................................................................ 63
4.4 Witness protection ..................................................................................................................... 65
Annex 1: Bibliography ........................................................................................................................... 66
Annex 2: Terms of reference ................................................................................................................ 82

5

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

Disclaimer
This report was written according to the EASO COI Report Methodology (2019).1 The report is basedon carefully selected sources of information. All sources used are referenced.
The information contained in this report has been researched, evaluated and analysed with utmost
care. However, this document does not claim to be exhaustive. If a particular event, person ororganisation is not mentioned in the report, this does not mean that the event has not taken place orthat the person or organisation does not exist.
Furthermore, this report is not conclusive as to the determination or merit of any particularapplication for international protection. Terminology used should not be regarded as indicative of aparticular legal position.
‘Refugee’, ‘risk’ and similar terminology are used as generic terminology and not in the legal sense as
applied in the EU Asylum Acquis, the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol relating to the
Status of Refugees.
Neither EASO nor any person acting on its behalf may be held responsible for the use which may bemade of the information contained in this report.
The first draft of this report was finalised on 1 March 2021. Any event taking place after this date is
not included in this report. More information on the reference period for this report can be found in
the methodology section of the Introduction.

1 The 2019 EASO COI Report Methodology can be downloaded from the EASO COI Portal url

6

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

Glossary and abbreviations
DFAT

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

ERRIN

European Return and Reintegration Network

FGM

Female genital mutilation

IDP

Internally displaced person

IOM

International Organization for Migration

NACTAL

Network of CSOs Against Child Trafficking, Abuse and Labour

NAPTIP

National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons

NCFRMI

National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced
PersonsNGO

Non-governmental organisation

OCG

Organised Crime Group

OHCHR

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

PCI

Patriotic Citizen Initiatives

SEYP

Society for the Empowerment of Young Persons

THB

Trafficking in human beings

TIPPEAA

Nigeria, Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition), Enforcement andAdministration Act

TIPLEAA

Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Law Enforcement andAdministration Act

UNODC

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

USDOS

United States Department of State

7

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

Introduction
The purpose of this COI report on Trafficking in Human Beings (THB) is to provide relevant information
for the assessment of international protection status determination, including refugee status andsubsidiary protection. In particular the report is intended to inform the update of EASO Country
Guidance development on Nigeria (2019).
The report is an update of the 2015 EASO COI report on Sex Trafficking of women in Nigeria 2 and ofChapter 3.16 Victims in THB in EASO’s 2018 Targeting of Individuals report3. While the report’s main
focus remains on sex trafficking – in which to a large extent women are involved as victims, othertypes of trafficking in human beings are also briefly discussed, such as trafficking of men and children
and for purposes of labour, drugs, organ or ‘baby factory’ trafficking in Nigeria.

Methodology
This report is produced in line with the EASO COI Report Methodology (2019)4 and the EASO COI
Writing and Referencing Style Guide (2019).5

Defining the terms of reference
The terms of reference of this report were defined by EASO based on discussions held and input
received from policy experts from EU+6 countries within the framework of a country guidancedevelopment on Nigeria. Terms of reference for this report can be found in Annex 2: Terms ofreference.

Collecting information
The information gathered is a result of research using public, specialised paper-based and electronicsources until 1 March 2021. In addition, several oral sources were interviewed by the drafter in the
period from October 2020 to 1 March 2021. Some of these sources wished to remain anonymous forsafety reasons. All oral and anonymous non-public sources are described in the Bibliography.
Some additional information was added during the finalisation of this report in response to feedback
received during the quality control process, until 13 April 2021.

Quality control
In order to ensure that the drafter respected the EASO COI Report Methodology, a review was carriedout by COI specialists from the countries and organisations listed as reviewers in the
Acknowledgements section. In addition, a review of the report was carried out by Dr Corentin Cohen,
and by the Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation (ACCORD).
All comments made by the reviewers were taken into consideration and most of them were
implemented in the final draft of this report. EASO performed the final quality review and editing of
the text.

2 EASO, EASO COI report Nigeria, Sex Trafficking of women, October 2015, url
3 EASO, EASO (COI) Report Nigeria Targeting of individuals, November 2018, url
4 EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information (COI) Report Methodology, June 2019, url
5 EASO, Writing and Referencing Guide for EASO Country of Origin Information (COI) Reports, June 2019, url
6 EU Member States plus Norway and Switzerland

8

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

Structure and use of the report
The report is structured according to the ToR and is divided into four chapters. The first chapter is a
general overview of trafficking in human beings within Nigeria, and includes the most occurring typesof trafficking. It discusses the profiles of women, men and children as the most probable victims of
trafficking.
The second chapter dives into the modus operandi of trafficking, including networks and roles oftraffickers, the debt system and taking of oaths, and the organisation of travel to Europe.
The third chapter deals with the situation of returning victims of trafficking to Nigeria, the support
possibilities and shelters, the attitude of relatives and organisations towards returnees. The risks ofretrafficking and the factors influencing possible retrafficking are also discussed.
The final chapter treats the role of the state and state organisations in protecting victims of trafficking
and prosecuting traffickers.

9Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

Map

Map 1 © UN, August 20147

7 UN, UN Map No 4228, August 2014, url

10

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

1. Human trafficking within and from Nigeria
Nigeria is a country of origin, transit and destination for victims of trafficking in human beings.8 In
2003, Nigeria adopted the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Law Enforcement and Administration
Act (TIPLEAA), which constitutes the legal basis for the fight against human trafficking in Nigeria9, andwhich has been significantly amended in 2015.10 The Nigerian government considers a person to be
trafficked if: (i) the individual was sold in exchange for money; (ii) the individual was put in debt
bondage; (iii) his/her travel documents were seized by agents, employers or traffickers; (iv) his/her
freedom of movement was restricted; (v) the individual was subjected to or suffered violence or threat
against his/her family; (vi) the individual’s traffickers gained any form of benefits at their expense
through the use of force, deceit, and other forms of exploitation; (vii) the individual has suffered
physical, mental and/or sexual abuse; and/or (viii) the individual had no prior knowledge of the
exploitative nature of the job they were promised.11 The law establishes a National Agency for theProhibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) to enforce and administer the TIPLEAA.12
International organisations and other experts largely agree that the Nigerian government at thefederal and state level – particularly in Edo State13 – has made various efforts to address trafficking inhuman beings.14 Sources, however, also posited that this acknowledgment has not been followed up
with the allocation of adequate resources to the fight against human trafficking15, and that thisacknowledgement predominantly concerns human trafficking aimed at the sexual exploitation of
women.16 Positive developments during the last couple of years were efforts aimed at the creation ofa new National Action Plan against Human Trafficking17 and the creation of multiple state task forceson human trafficking.18 While the core focus of this report concerns cross-border trafficking to Europe,
this introductory chapter will also touch upon various types of trafficking in human beings within
Nigeria and from Nigeria to countries outside the European Union.

1.1 Trafficking in human beings at domestic level
In 2018 the Walk Free Foundation estimated there were almost 1.4 million individuals living in modern
slavery in Nigeria.19 According to their definition of modern slavery, this phenomenon covers a range

8 US, USDOS, Trafficking in Persons Report 2020: Nigeria, 25 June 2020, url
9 Nigeria, Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Law Enforcement and Administration Act, 2003, url
10 Nigeria, Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition), Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015. url. Some states, such as Edo haveadopted their own anti-trafficking laws. See: Pathfinders Justice Initiative, Edo state human trafficking bill signed into law bygovernor Obaseki, 24 May 2018, url
11 Nigeria, NAPTIP, National Policy on Protection and Assistance to Trafficked Persons in Nigeria, 2008, p. 8.
12 Nigeria, NAPTIP, About NAPTIP, n.d., url
13 OHCHR, End of visit statement, Nigeria (3-10 September) by Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, UN Special Rapporteur on
Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, 10 September 2018, url
14 US, USDOS, Trafficking in Persons Report 2020: Nigeria, 25 June 2020, url, p. 378; OHCHR, End of visit statement, Nigeria(3-10 September) by Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, especially Women andChildren, 10 September 2018, url
15 Representative of international organisation A, interview 21 October 2020; OHCHR, End of visit statement, Nigeria (3-10
September) by Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children,
10 September 2018, url
16 OHCHR, End of visit statement, Nigeria (3-10 September) by Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, UN Special Rapporteur on
Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, 10 September 2018, url
17 UNODC, NAPTIP kick-off process to develop a new national action plan against human trafficking, 23 November 2020, url;
UNODC, Strengthening the policy framework and response to human trafficking in Nigeria (2020 – 2021), 2020, url
18 UNODC, Nigeria heeds global call, sets up State Task Force against human trafficking, n.d. url. See also: NAPTIP, Month:
October 2020, n.d., url
19 Walk Free Foundation, The Global Slavery Index 2018, 2018, url, p. 69. The report indicated that: ‘These regional figures,
while important, should be interpreted cautiously given the gaps and limitations of data in certain countries. For example, it

11Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beingsof ‘specific legal concepts including forced labour, debt bondage, forced marriage, slavery and slaverylike practices, and human trafficking’.20 The report does not indicate what percentage of the estimatednumber of Nigerian victims of modern slavery were victims of human trafficking.
Nigerian victims of human trafficking are exploited within and outside Nigeria. Stakeholders, whowere consulted for a report on human trafficking in Nigeria by an international organisation, estimatedthat two-thirds of Nigerian victims of trafficking are victims of domestic human trafficking.21 The UN
Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children also indicated that thistype of trafficking was ‘rampant’.22 NAPTIP data show that in 2019 41.8 % of the victims they rescued
were victims of exploitation outside Nigeria. 417 out of 1 152 individuals were victims of ‘Procurementfor Foreign Travel which promotes Prostitution’ or ‘Procurement of Persons for Sexual Exploitation or
prostitution externally’.23 However, the total number of victims rescued by NAPTIP in 2019 – 1 152
individuals – constitutes only a fraction of the estimated total number of Nigerian individuals who aretrafficked on an annual basis; in view of the above mentioned Global Slavery Index 2018 which
mentioned 1.4 million Nigerians as victims of modern slavery.24 Therefore, the NAPTIP figure of
rescued victims is not necessarily a reliable picture about the ratio of victims of internal and crossborder trafficking in Nigeria.
Human trafficking in Nigeria affects individuals across various age groups, genders and geographicallocations within Nigeria. However, children and women dominated the category of victims that were
rescued (inside and outside Nigeria) by NAPTIP in 2019: half of the rescued individuals were children,
44 % women and 6 % men. Girls constituted almost 75 % of the rescued children. These data also
include children rescued from other situations than exploitation, as NAPTIP also intervenes in family
disputes and custody battles, for instance. 25 The following paragraphs discuss in some more detailcommon forms of domestic trafficking, including exploitation of children in various realms, the sexual
exploitation of women and girls, and the phenomenon of ‘baby factories’.

1.1.1 Exploitation and trafficking of children
Data indicate that child labour is a widespread problem in Nigeria. According to the Nigeria Living
Standards Survey 2018/2019, 13 % of Nigerian boys and 10 % of Nigerian girls (5-14 years old)
indicated to spend their time working only.26 According to UNICEF’s 2016-2017 Multi Indicator Cluster
Survey, 50.8 % of the surveyed children (5-17 years old) had engaged in economic activities orhousehold chores in the previous week. 39.1 % of the surveyed children had engaged in such activities‘under hazardous conditions’.27 Relatively more boys than girls between five and seventeen years old
had partaken in child labour under hazardous conditions in the week before the survey took place,
42.8 % against 35.1 %. In terms of geography, child labour and child labour under hazardous
circumstances occurred across the whole of Nigeria. However, it was almost twice more common inrural than in urban zones, and occurred most in north-central and north-west Nigeria.28 Children wereis not possible to survey in countries that are experiencing profound and current conflict, such as Libya, South Sudan, andparts of Nigeria. The lack of data from countries experiencing conflict means that modern slavery estimates in these countries
are likely to understate the problem’.
20 Walk Free Foundation, The Global Slavery Index 2018, 2018, url, p. 140
21 International organisation A, confidential report December 2020, p. 16
22 OHCHR, End of visit statement, Nigeria (3-10 September) by Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, UN Special Rapporteur on
Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, 10 September 2018, url
23 Nigeria, NAPTIP, 2019 Data Analysis, 2019, url, p. 7
24 Walk Free Foundation, The Global Slavery Index 2018, 2018, url, p. 69
25 Nigeria, NAPTIP, 2019 Data Analysis, 2019, url, p. 9
26 Nigeria, National Bureau for Statistics, Nigeria Living Standards Survey 2018/2019, 2021, url, p. 58
27 UNICEF, 2016-2017 Multi-Indicator Cluster Survey, February 2018, url, pp. 223-224
28 UNICEF, 2016-2017 Multi-Indicator Cluster Survey, 2017, url, pp. 223-224

12

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

subjected to various types of exploitation, including: domestic servitude, forced labour (in agriculture,mining, quarrying), and street hawking.29
Forced begging is a major problem in Nigeria as well. While reliable estimates of the number ofchildren who engage in (forced) begging do not exist, in northern Nigeria millions of children who
cannot be taken care of by their parents attend a specific type of religious boarding schools, known asalmajiri schools, which rely on child begging/labour for their financing.30 In 2014, UNICEF estimatedthat out of the 13.2 million children outside of Nigeria’s formal school system, 9.5 million were in thealmajiri system.31 In the south – particularly in big urban centres – street children and child beggars
also are a common sight.32 In some cases, parents also forced their children to beg, or recruiters lured
children away from their families.33 According to the 2020 US Department of State Trafficking in
Persons (TiP) report ‘in southern Nigeria, especially Lagos, some women drug and “rent” their infantsout to street beggars to increase the beggars’ profits.’34
In conflict zones such as the Middle Belt, north-west and north-east Nigeria children are vulnerable to(sexual) exploitation.35 There have been reports of recruitment of girls from internally displaced
people (IDP) camps across northern Nigeria for the purpose of sexual exploitation.36 In the north-east
in particular there were cases of recruitment of children as child soldiers.37 According to UN data thetotal number of Nigerian child soldiers and the number of new recruitments have, however,significantly decreased since 2017.38

1.1.2 Sexual exploitation of women and girls in Nigeria
As the previous paragraph already indicated, sexual exploitation akin to human trafficking also occurs
within Nigeria. This phenomenon is not limited to conflict zones and IDP camps. In 2019, 68 out of the
1 152 victims rescued by NAPTIP were victims of sexual exploitation within Nigeria. 66 of these victims
were women.39 Often these women/girls are trafficked from the countryside to big cities such as
Lagos40, Abeokuta, Ibadan, Kano, Kaduna, Calabar, and Port Harcourt.41 Some sources indicated thatvictims of trafficking who had returned from abroad/Europe ended in (forced) prostitution in
Nigeria.42 Euronews found that ‘it is difficult to keep returning women and girls away from the
networks that trafficked them in the first place’, citing a non-governmental organisation (NGO) worker
29 International Organisation A, confidential report December 2020, p. 17; US, USDOS, Trafficking in Persons Report 2020:

Nigeria, 25 June 2020, url, p. 381
30 BBC, Coronavirus in Nigeria: The child beggars at the heart of the outbreak, 16 May 2020, url; Anti-Slavery International,
Shackled to the past: An exploration of the best prospects for combatting forced child begging in Nigeria, November 2020,
url, p. 10
31 UNICEF, cited by Anti-Slavery International, Shackled to the past: An exploration of the best prospects for combatting
forced child begging in Nigeria, November 2020, url, p. 10
32 Africa.com, Social Enterprise Shines Light On Nigeria’s Street Kids In Dark Days Of Pandemic, May 2020, url
33 Aluko Y. and T. Olanipekun, Menace of Street Begging among Children in Urban centers: Activities, Survival and Coping
Strategies, 2019, url, p. 10
34 US, USDOS, Trafficking in Persons Report 2020: Nigeria, 25 June 2020, url, p. 381
35 International organisation A, confidential report December 2020, p. 17
36 UNHCR, Assessment of Trafficking Risks in Internally Displaced Persons Camps in North-East Nigeria, April 2020, url, p. 12.
See also: Al Jazeera, Survivors of Nigeria’s ‘baby factories’ share their stories, 3 May 2020, url; Premium Times,
INVESTIGATION: Grim tales of rape, child trafficking in Nigeria’s displaced persons camps, 31 January 2015, url; New
Humanitarian (The), First Person: Want to thwart human traffickers? Just add water, 31 October 2018, url
37 UNSG, Children and Armed Conflict in Nigeria, 6 July 2020, url, p. 6
38 UNSG, Children and Armed Conflict in Nigeria, 6 July 2020, url, p. 6
39 Nigeria, NAPTIP, 2019 Data Analysis, 2019, url, p. 940 Vanguard, Girls trafficked from Akwa Ibom for prostitution in Lagos open up, 16 May 2020, url
41 US, USDOS, Trafficking in Persons Report 2020: Nigeria, 25 June 2020, url, p. 381. See also: DW, The New Ways of Nigeria’s
Human Traffickers, 3 October 2017, url
42 Euronews, Abused in Libya and forced into prostitution back home: the nightmare of trying to reach Europe, 21 June 2020,
url; Director Nigerian NGO, interview 10 November 2020; Washington Post (The), Nigerians return from slavery in Libya tothriving sex-trafficking industry back home, 23 January 2018, url

13

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

from Benin City who stated that ‘our girls tried their best to return to their families, yet many returnto prostitution, others are still in contact with their traffickers.’43 The Washington Post indicated that‘survivors and experts say the rush to return Nigerians is doing little to break the cycle of sex slavery
and may be perpetuating it: Returnees are dropped back into the epicenter of Nigeria's sex-trafficking
industry, often deeper in debt and with fewer options than before they left’ (see also Section 4.2
Retrafficking).44 Women from neighbouring countries are also trafficked to Nigeria for the purpose of
sexual exploitation.45

1.1.3 ‘Baby factories’
Also during this reporting period, a range of actors including Nigerian and international media outlets
reported on the trafficking of Nigerian women for selling their babies.46 The centres, which house thevictims and their children, are called ‘baby factories’.47 Reports and articles in the media distinguished
two modi operandi of baby factories. Articles by the Guardian and CNN indicated that traffickers
recruited already pregnant, unmarried women from poor backgrounds either (falsely) promising thema high amount of money in return for their babies48, or luring them into the ‘baby factories’ by
pretending to provide them with some form of support.49 Another report indicated that baby factories
recruited young girls from disadvantaged backgrounds, particularly IDPs50, with the false promise ofjobs.51

1.2 Cross-border trafficking in human beings towards third countries
Nigeria acts as a source country for human trafficking towards neighbouring countries, destinations inNorth Africa and the Middle East, the EU, and Eastern European countries such as Russia. In 2020, theUS Department of State identified Nigerian victims of human trafficking in at least 36 other countries.52
In 2019, NAPTIP rescued and returned Nigerian victims from eighteen different countries. The majorityof victims rescued from situations of exploitation in third countries by NAPTIP were based inneighbouring countries (Mali, Niger and Cote d’Ivoire), Libya, Russia and various countries in the
Middle East.53 It goes beyond the scope of this report to discuss victim profiles per country/region(outside Europe). Nigerian women and girls often ended up working in prostitution or domestic
servitude.54 Nigerian boys ended up in domestic servitude as well, or in forced labour (in for instancemining/construction/agriculture), as do adult men.55 Experts indicated that southern Nigerians were
43 Euronews, Abused in Libya and forced into prostitution back home: the nightmare of trying to reach Europe, 21 June 2020,

url
44 Washington Post (The), Nigerians return from slavery in Libya to thriving sex-trafficking industry back home, 23 January
2018, url
45 US, USDOS, Trafficking in Persons Report 2020: Nigeria, 25 June 2020, url, p. 382
46 For information about this phenomenon during the previous reporting period, see: EASO, EASO Country of Origin
Information Report Nigeria Targeting of individuals, November 2018, url, p. 140
47 Al Jazeera, Survivors of Nigeria’s ‘baby factories’ share their stories, 3 May 2020, url; CNN, 19 pregnant teens and women
rescued from suspected baby traffickers in Nigeria, police say, 30 September 2019, url
48 Guardian (The), 'I had no choice': the desperate Nigerian women who sell their babies, 6 May 2020, url
49 Guardian (The), 'I had no choice': the desperate Nigerian women who sell their babies, 6 May 2020, url
50 Al Jazeera, Survivors of Nigeria’s ‘baby factories’ share their stories, 3 May 2020, url
51 CNN, 19 pregnant teens and women rescued from suspected baby traffickers in Nigeria, 30 September 2019, url
52 US, USDOS, Trafficking in Persons Report 2020: Nigeria, 25 June 2020, url, p. 382.
53 Nigeria, NAPTIP, 2019 Data Analysis, 2019, url, p. 10
54 CNN, 20,000 Nigerian girls sold to prostitution ring, trafficking agency says, 22 January 2019. url; BBC, Trafficked Nigerian
women rescued from Lebanon, 26 May 2020, url; IPS, The Exploitative System that Traps Nigerian Women as Slaves in
Lebanon, 14 September 2020, url; Premium Times, Another 71 Nigerian women trafficked to Lebanon arrive home, 17 August
2020, url; UNHCR, Assessment of Trafficking Risks in Internally Displaced Persons Camps in North-East Nigeria, April 2020,
url, p. 11; Representative international humanitarian organisation, interview 26 October 2020
55 UNHCR, Assessment of Trafficking Risks in Internally Displaced Persons Camps in North-East Nigeria, April 2020, url, p. 9;
Representative international humanitarian organisation, interview 26 October 202014

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

mostly trafficked to west and central Africa, whereas inhabitants from the Middle Belt and northern
Nigeria were mostly trafficked to Niger, Chad, Sudan and the Middle East.56 Some IDP camps innorthern Nigeria functioned as gateways for trafficking to neighbouring countries.57
Specifically with regard to sex trafficking, sources indicated that as it has become more difficult to
traffic Nigerian women to Europe, trafficking networks have adjusted their modus operandi andfocused more on neighbouring countries and the Middle East as destinations for sex trafficking.58 The
anthropologist Sine Plambech, who is specialised in the field of sex trafficking from Nigeria, indicatedthat women from Edo State in southern Nigeria are now also being trafficked towards Dubai inincreasing numbers, due to the increased difficulty in crossing the central Mediterranean route since2017.59 Due to less stringent visa requirements for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, traffickers
fraudulently recruited Nigerian women for jobs in Russia to exploit them in the sex industry.60 Whilesome of these countries thus increasingly acted as the main trafficking destination for Nigerian
women, a large share of the victims got stuck in Libya while they were on their way to Europe61, where
they can spend months or years.62

1.2.1 Organ harvestingSome reports about cross-border organ trafficking have been published. In 2019, NAPTIP reported thearrest of one individual suspected of the recruitment of persons for ‘organ harvesting’.63 A
quantitative survey based on more than 1 600 interviews with West African migrants in Mali and Niger
found that while relatively few participants indicated to have become victim to organ trafficking (3 %),traffickers were approaching Nigerian migrants to participate in such schemes:‘Organ trafficking is the least commonly experienced form of trafficking for migrants in our
sample, being cited by only 3 % of respondents (50 individuals). However, in addition to the
3 % who reported being forced to sell their blood or organs, a further 4 % reported that they
had been approached with offers of money for their blood and organs.’64
Specifically with regard to the Nigerian context, the report indicated that the market for these organs
has partly shifted from Europe and North Africa to Malaysia and Singapore. There are indications thatas sex trafficking has become more difficult traffickers are looking to organ trafficking as an alternative
source of income.65

1.3 Cross-border trafficking in human beings towards Europe
The EU harbours a significant number of Nigerian trafficking victims. However, after a peak of arrivalsof Nigerian migrants in Italy between 2015 and 201766, data from 2019 show the influx has sharply
declined as a result of the worsening security situation in Libya67, and in the wake of new measures to

56 Mossino, A., Director PIAM ONLUS, interview 5 October 2020
57 UNHCR, Assessment of Trafficking Risks in Internally Displaced Persons Camps in North-East Nigeria, April 2020, url, p. 14
58 Plambech, S., Senior Researcher DIIS, interview 1 March 2021
59 Plambech, S., Senior Researcher DIIS, interview 1 March 2021
60 US, USDOS, Trafficking in Persons Report 2020: Nigeria, 25 June 2020, url, p. 382
61 Plambech, S., Senior Researcher DIIS, interview 1 March 2021; Idahosa, R. Evon, Founder/Executive Director Pathfinders

Justice Initiative, interview 26 February 2021
62 Pascoal, R., Stranded: The New Trendsetters of the Nigerian Human Trafficking Criminal Networks for Sexual Purposes,
2018, url, p. 15
63 Nigeria, NAPTIP, 2019 Data Analysis, 2019, url, p. 464 Malakooti, A., The Intersection of Irregular Migration and Trafficking in West Africa and the Sahel, 2020, url, p. 45
65 Malakooti, A., The Intersection of Irregular Migration and Trafficking in West Africa and the Sahel, 2020, url, p. 74
66 UNHCR, Italy Sea Arrivals Dashboard - December 2017, 11 January 2018. url; UNHCR, Italy Sea Arrivals Dashboard December 2018, 11 January 2019, url; UNHCR, Italy Sear Arrivals Dashboard – December 2019, 21 January 2020, url
67 Foreign Policy, The U.N. Is Leaving Migrants to Die in Libya, 10 October 2019, url

15

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beingsstem migration to Italy, including support for Libyan coast guards.68 Between 2017 and 2019, thenumber of detected illegal crossings via the central Mediterranean route dropped significantly (formore details, see Section 2.5).69 According to figures of the International Organization for Migration(IOM) a total of 465 250 irregular migrants arrived in Europe (both by land and by sea) between 2017and mid-2020. 20 348 individuals originated from Nigeria.70 During the reporting period, Nigerians still
topped the list of countries of origin of (identified) non-EU victims of human trafficking in the EU.71
During this period, Nigeria also topped the list of non-EU citizenships with the highest proportion of
victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation in the EU, accounting for 68 % of such victims.72 The
majority (92 %) of identified Nigerian victims of trafficking in EU countries were women.73 The
following paragraphs will discuss the profiles of sex trafficking victims and others in more depth.

1.3.1 Nigerian victims of sex trafficking in Europe
As was the case during the previous reporting period74, women still constituted the largest share oftrafficking victims detected in the EU (92 %) between 2017 and 2018, and the majority of all detected
Nigerian trafficking victims in the EU was exploited in the European prostitution industry.75 These
women originated predominantly from the south of Nigeria, particularly the state of Edo, of which thecapital, Benin City, has been the central hub for sex trafficking from Nigeria to Europe for the last
decades.76 The previous EASO report on sex trafficking of Nigerian women (2015) indicated that most
women who were trafficked from Edo belonged to the Bini, the dominant ethnic group in Edo.77 They
were predominantly between 17 and 28 years of age with a large share of the victims belonging to
the 18-20 years age bracket.78 The 2015 EASO report furthermore indicated that most women andgirls were illiterate or had only completed secondary education, originated from unstable family
situations and experienced economic hardship, but did not belong to the poorest ranks of Edo society,but rather to the lower middle class.79 There are no indications that this profile of women traffickedfrom Edo to Europe has changed significantly since 2015.

Geographical background: shift in recruiting grounds?
A remarkable development during this reporting period was a partial shift in the recruiting grounds
for traffickers. Some media reports provided the impression that this is a result of the 2018 decisionby the Oba (local royal ruler) of Benin to curse sex trafficking and renounce the oaths that obliged
existing victims of sex trafficking to pay off the debts they incurred with their traffickers (more in
68 BBC, Migrant crisis: Illegal entries to EU at lowest level in five years, 4 January 2019, url; Washington Post (The), Returned

to a war zone: One boat. Dozens of dreams. All blocked by Europe’s anti-migrant policies, 28 December 2019, url
69 In 2020, the number of arrivals in Europe via the Central Mediterranean Route increased again even though the overall
number of illegal arrivals in Europe dropped due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Frontex does not specify how many of these
arrivals were Nigerians. Frontex, FLASH REPORT – Irregular migration into EU at lowest level since 2013, 8 January 2020, url
70 IOM, Irregular Migration Routes to Europe: West and Central Africa, January-June 2020, url, p. 1
71 European Commission, Data collection on trafficking in human beings in the EU, 2020, url, p. 27
72 European Commission, Data collection on trafficking in human beings in the EU, 2020, url, p. 28
73 European Commission, Data collection on trafficking in human beings in the EU, 2020, url, p. 169. See also: Netherlands,
Nationaal Rapporteur Mensenhandel, Slachtoffermonitor Mensenhandel 2015-2019 [Victim Monitor Human Trafficking
2015-2019], 2020, url, p. 30. This was also observed in older research, e.g.: IOM, Human Trafficking Along the Central
Mediterranean Route, 2017, url, p. 30
74 UNODC, Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2014, url, pp. 56-57
75 European Commission, Data collection on trafficking in human beings in the EU, 2020, url, pp. 166-169
76 Alberto Mossiono, Director PIAM ONLUS, email exchange 22 February 2021; CLEEN & Pathfinders Justice Initiative,
Pathway to Prevention, 2020, url, p. 20
77 Also referred to as binis.
78 EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information Report - Nigeria – Sex Trafficking of women, October 2015, url, p. 15. Source:
Pascoal, R, The situation of the Nigerian human trafficking victims and their children in Italy, 19 December 2012, p. 23;
Kastner, K, ‘Moving relationships: family ties of Nigerian migrants on their way to Europe’, January 2010, p. 20.
79 EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information Report - Nigeria – Sex Trafficking of women, October 2015, url, p. 16. Source:
Kastner, Kristin, ‘Moving relationships’, January 2010, p. 20.

16

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

Section 2.3).80 As the influence of the Oba only stretches over the Bini people who acknowledge his
authority81, NGO representatives based in Benin City suggested that traffickers have partly relocatedtheir recruiting grounds to other states or recruit women from other backgrounds.82 A research carriedout in 2020 with (returned) trafficking victims in Benin City indicated that Edo State is still an important
departure point for victims of overseas sex trafficking, but that many of the women and girls who passthrough Benin City are not from Edo themselves.83 Sources identified an increase of female victims
destined for sex trafficking towards Europe from the southern states Delta84, Ekiti, and Ondo85, butalso the northern state of Kano.86 One report identified the state of Anambra as an important
departure point for irregular Nigerian migrants, and indicated that the city of Onitsha in the state of
Akwa Ibom had the potential to become a hub for irregular migration.87 It is, however, still too early
to estimate the exact effects of the decision by the Oba.
Moreover, since the arrival of Nigerians to the EU has dropped since 2018, sources deemed unlikelythat the actions by the Oba have significantly altered the demographic profile of female Nigerian
victims of trafficking in the EU. Various organisations working with Nigerian female victims of
trafficking in Europe confirmed that they still mostly encountered victims from Edo and other parts ofsouthern Nigeria.88 Recent research with Nigerian victims in France confirmed that most (identified)Nigerian victims of sex trafficking in France still originated from Edo and particularly from two
relatively poor neighbourhoods in Benin City named Upper Sakponba and Saint Saviour.89 Other
research also identified Upper Sakponba as a prime area for the recruitment of trafficking victims,
together with the village of Uromi outside Benin City.90

Age
Eleven percent of all (male and female) Nigerian trafficking victims who were detected in the EU
between 2017 and 2018 were recorded as minors.91 Other sources also indicate that there wereminors amongst female Nigerian sex trafficking victims in Europe.92 Out of 450 Nigerian sex trafficking

80 See, for instance: Reuters, Black magic ban dents sex trafficking in Nigeria, 19 September 2018, url; De Correspondent,

Vijfhonderd voodoo-priesters en een vloek laten zien: met magie kun je mensenhandel bestrijden [Five hundred voodoo
priests and a curse show: magic can combat human trafficking], 26 September 2018, url; Guardian (The), Escape: the woman
who brought her trafficker to justice, 27 August 2020, url
81 Mostly based in the former territory of the Kingdom of Benin, nowadays localized in Edo State.
82 Idahosa, R. Evon, Founder/Executive Director Pathfinders Justice Initiative, interview 24 February 2021; Nwoha, R.,
Representative Idia Renessaince, interview 19 November 2020
83 CLEEN & Pathfinders Justice Initiative, Pathway to Prevention, 2020, url, p. 20
84 International organisation, confidential report December 2020, p. 20
85 Nwoha, R., Representative Idia Renessaince, interview 19 November 2020
86 International organisation A, confidential report December 2020, p. 20
87 European organisation, confidential report, December 2020, p. 4
88 Mossino, A., Director PIAM ONLUS, interview 5 October 2020; Heeringa, A., Team Leader Perspectives on Rights, Salvation
Army, interview 19 November 2020. See also: VRT, PODCAST: De meisjes van de nacht [Girls of the night], 2018, url
89 Apard, E., et al., «La prostitution, ça ne tue pas !», 2020, url, p. 56
90 CLEEN & Pathfinders Justice Initiative, Pathway to Prevention, 2020, url, p. 37
91 The document does not specify on the basis of what evidence victims’ age was recorded. In 7% of the cases the victim’s
age was unknown. European Commission, Data collection on trafficking in human beings in the EU, 2020, url, p. 175. The
2015 EASO report on sex trafficking indicates that ‘[t]he age declared by girls or women may not be accurate however’, citinga source which states that: ‘Generally speaking, there is a tendency to rise the potential victim’s age during the journey to
Italy thus stressing the consensual and voluntary aspect of the journey. Contrary to this, there is a tendency to lower the age
when the woman is working as a prostitute since this may attract a broader clientele. Once the women detach themselvesfrom the exploitation rings and start their relationship with the social services, the possibility to lower or rise their age
depends on basic needs (when the age is uncertain): on the one hand, be under 18 years old may be an important factor forreceiving better protection but, on the other hand, it may be an obstacle in job hunting.’ EASO, EASO Country of Origin
Information Report - Nigeria – Sex Trafficking of women, October 2015, url, p. 15. Source: UNICRI, Trafficking of Nigerian
girls in Italy, April 2010, pp. 41-42
92 Plambech, S., Senior Researcher DIIS, interview 1 March 2021; Apard, E., et al., «La prostitution, ça ne tue pas !», 2020,
url, p. 54; New Yorker (The), The Desperate Journey of a Trafficked Girl, 3 April 2017, url

17

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

victims who arrived between 2015 and 2018 and got support from the French NGO Le bus des femmes,
about one hundred were minors aged between 12 and 17 years.93 Sine Plambech indicated that
especially at the height of Nigerian migration to Europe (2015-2017) on average victims were younger
than in the past, because traffickers had expanded the age range from which they were recruiting.94

Poverty as a root cause of sex trafficking
Poverty and associated issues still act as the root cause for human trafficking – and migration in
general – from southern Nigeria to Europe. A workshop with Nigerian stakeholders in 2018 found :‘The causes or drivers of human trafficking appeared to be multiple, intertwining andoverlapping. Stakeholders highlighted multiple vulnerabilities to trafficking across thedifferent levels of the Determinants of Vulnerability model. These included poverty,
unemployment, lower levels of education and literacy, corruption, conflict, the lack of social
safety nets, abuse of traditional fostering practices, cultural or religious norms that support
exploitation, the erosion of values and limited options for safe and legal migration. Increasing
demand for sex and cheap labour were considered an integral part of this.’ 95
More than half of the 76 survivors interviewed by Human Rights Watch for a study on the experiencesof victims who returned to Nigeria had dropped out of primary or secondary school for economic
reasons.96 Looking at the economic situation in the whole of Nigeria, the poverty experienced bypeople in Edo, however, concerns relative poverty as Edo is not one of the poorest states in the
country. 97 The National Living Standards Survey 2018/2019 showed that Edo is amongst the top threestates in which the highest percentage of households is receiving remittances.98
According to a study by the CLEEN Foundation and Pathfinders Justice Initiative, recruiters were most
likely to approach ‘the poorest and most vulnerable’ and the ‘illiterate and psychologically weak/naïve’:‘Recruiters maintain working knowledge of their prospective victims and mainly target thosethat are financially insecure and desperate. Families that cannot afford to educate theirchildren or provide three square meals a day are often targeted. […] Significantly, enablers
appear to take advantage of those who are illiterate and who lack the requisite strength inwill to resist their advances. One key informant avowed that “at most times, when you see[Enablers], a lot of them appear rather intelligent and they know how to work on yourintelligence. If you are not strong willed, they will entice and convince you.”’ 99
Sources also indicated that many victims originated from dysfunctional and sometimes abusive family
situations. Daughters from one-parent100, and polygamous households101 are particularly vulnerable
to becoming victims of trafficking. Various sources indicated that the tradition of subjecting girls/
women to female genital mutilation (FGM) was a factor that increased girls’ vulnerability totrafficking.102 Amongst certain ethnic groups in the south of Nigeria a larger percentage of
93 Apard, E., et al., «La prostitution, ça ne tue pas !», 2020, url, p. 54 ; European Commission, Data collection on trafficking

in human beings in the EU, 2020, p. 175. url; Save the Children, Young Invisible Enslaved: Children Victims of Trafficking andLabour Exploitation in Italy, July 2017, url, p. 27
94 Plambech, S., Senior Researcher DIIS, interview 1 March 2021
95 University of Bedfordshire, Vulnerability to Human Trafficking: A Study of Vietnam, Albania, Nigeria and the UK - Reportof Shared Learning Event held in Lagos, Nigeria: 17-18 January 2018, October 2018, url, p. 6
96 Human Rights Watch, “You Pray for Death” Trafficking of Women and Girls in Nigeria, 2019, url, p. 27
97 CLEEN & Pathfinders Justice Initiative, Pathway to Prevention, 2020, url, pp. 53-54
98 National Bureau for Statistics, Nigeria Living Standards Survey 2018/2019, 2021, url, pp. 61-63
99 CLEEN & Pathfinders Justice Initiative, Pathway to Prevention, 2020, p. 33. url
100 Apard, E., et al., «La prostitution, ça ne tue pas !»,, 2020. https://www.cairn.info/revue-politique-africaine-2020-3-page51.htm [Paywell]; Human Rights Watch, “You Pray for Death” Trafficking of Women and Girls in Nigeria, 2019, p. 28. url.
101 Human Rights Watch, “You Pray for Death” Trafficking of Women and Girls in Nigeria, 2019, p. 29. url
102 Apard, E., et al., «La prostitution, ça ne tue pas !»,, 2020, p. 65. url ; Report International Organisation, 2020, p. 22.

18

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

girls/women are submitted to FGM at a relatively late age.103 Sources indicated that traffickers preyon girls/women who try to escape FGM and end up by themselves in large urban centres.104 Genderinequality105, and the notion that daughters should make sacrifices for the economic well-being of
their families also contribute to high rates of sex trafficking from Edo State.106

Awareness: Trafficking perceived as an opportunity for social mobility
As was mentioned in the 2015 EASO report on sex trafficking, research indicated that many victims
from Edo State were aware that they will work in the sex industry in Europe.107 An overview of projects
to curb sex trafficking in Nigeria identified 39 awareness-raising campaigns that had been launchedbetween 2010 and 2019, most of which targeted Edo State, with a focus on urban areas.108 According
to recent research by PathFinders Justice Initiative, citizens of Edo State were very well aware of theissues and know what sex trafficking entails.109 Other research found that women from Edo State, whowere trafficked to Europe, were themselves also often aware of the type of activities they would beengaged in.110
Sex trafficking is not necessarily considered something bad in Edo State. According to Apard andothers, many poor and lower/middle-class inhabitants of Benin City indeed consider having a family
member abroad to be the sole mechanism to achieve social mobility:111‘Examples of social success linked to migration in general, whether real or fantasized, havepermeated the collective consciousness with such force, that families with no family members
abroad perceive themselves (and are perceived) as deprived of all opportunities forenrichment and social advancement.’112

103 The majority of Nigerian women are submitted to FGM before the age of five. This percentage was higher in the norththan in the south of the country. The 2018 NDHS indicated that 85% of the circumcised women between 15 and 49 years old
had experienced this procedure before the age of five. The probability that women had experienced FGM before the age offive was higher amongst women below the age of 25. 91% of circumcised women between 15 and 25 indicated to have been
submitted to FGM before the age of five. This percentage was 79% for women above 45 years old. In nine out of ten cases,
circumcised muslim women had experienced FGM before the age of five. This percentage was 77% for Christian women. The
percentage of circumcised women who had experienced this procedure before the age of five was highest in the north west
geographic zone (97%) and lowest in the south south zone (59%). In the south south zone almost a quarter (24%) of
circumcised women between 15 and 49 years old experienced the procedure after the age of fifteen. This practice ofpracticing FGM at a later age is most common amongst the Ijaw/Izon ethnic groups. Amongst some ethnic groups
circumcision is practiced just before marriage (for instance amongst the Efik and Ibibio) or during pregnancy (for instanceamongst the Odi and Urhobo ethnic groups, who are mostly based in the Niger Delta). See: National Population Commission,
National Demographic and Health Survey, 2018, url, pp. 468-476; World Pulse, Bride Confinement, Fattening andCircumcision: A Cultural Practice in Nigeria, 2016; Bamgbose, Legal & Cultural Approaches to Sexual Matters in Africa, 20012002. url; Kolawole and Van de Kwaak, A Review of Determinants of Female Genital Mutilation in Nigeria, December 2010.
url; Atibinye Dotimi, Lived Experiences of Women from the Odi community in Nigeria of Female Genital Mutilation, 2016. url
104 Director Nigerian NGO, interview 10 November 2020; See also: Infomigrants, Germany 'the brothel of Europe' fortrafficked Nigerian women, 9 December 2019, url
105 Human Rights Watch, “You Pray for Death” Trafficking of Women and Girls in Nigeria, 2019, url, p. 25
106 Apard, E., et al., «La prostitution, ça ne tue pas !», 2020, url, pp. 60-62
107 EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information Report - Nigeria – Sex Trafficking of women, October 2015, url, p. 17
108 Semprebon, M., Fighting Human Trafficking in Nigeria: Recent and ongoing projects (2010-2019), 2020, url, p. 14
109 CLEEN & Pathfinders Justice Initiative, Pathway to Prevention, 2020, url, pp. 13-14
110 Samyn, S., Seksmigratie als deel van de overlevingseconomie in Nigeria [Sex migration as part of the survival economy in
Nigeria], 2018, url, p. 7; Vanderhurst, S., Governing with God: Religion, Resistance, and the State in Nigeria's Counter‐
Trafficking Programs, 2017, url, p 195 ; Washington Post (The), Nigerians return from slavery in Libya to thriving sextrafficking industry back home, 23 January 2018, url
111 Apard, E., et al., «La prostitution, ça ne tue pas !», 2020, url, p. 60 . See also: Washington Post (The), Nigerians returnfrom slavery in Libya to thriving sex-trafficking industry back home, 23 January 2018, url
112 Translated from the orginal in French by the author : ‘Les exemples de réussite sociale liée à la migration de manière
générale, qu’ils soient réels ou fantasmés, ont imprégné l’inconscient collectif de manière si profonde que les familles n’ayant
aucun de leur membre à l’étranger se perçoivent (et sont perçues) comme privées de toutes opportunitésd’enrichissement et de progression sociale.’ Apard, E., et al., «La prostitution, ça ne tue pas !», 2020, url, p. 60

19

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

This attitude specifically applies to (first-born) daughters, who are expected to sacrifice themselves
for the economic well-being of the family.113 In this regard Sophia Samyn found that ‘in Edo there is aform of collective complicity when talking about forced prostitution migration. People in Benin City
are generally aware of prostitution and consider it as something worthwhile, because many benefit
from it.’114
The fact that trafficking victims still managed to send remittances home from an early stage of theirstay in Europe and that many of them used social media to depict a more positive image of their living
circumstances contributed to preserving the notion that trafficking can be a path to a better future.115
Key informants interviewed by CLEEN Foundation and Pathfinders Justice Initiative also pointedat theovert display of wealth gains due to sex trafficking in Benin City/Edo State as important factors
encouraging families of and women/girls themselves to seek out traffickers.116
It is important to emphasise that in many cases those who are considered to be victims of sex
trafficking– by international actors and the Nigerian authorities - do not necessarily consider
themselves as such.117‘Since its founding, NAPTIP has worked with foreign donors and local NGOs on wide‐ranging
public enlightenment campaigns marking all forms of women's migration as sex trafficking. As
trafficking discourses entered the local lexicon, many poor and ambitious young women
appropriated it to describe their own goals, acknowledging the risks involved and yet stillinsisting that they would “want to be trafficked,” meaning they were willing to travel to enter
foreign sex industries.’118
These women, however, do not always seem to fully grasp the duration of the exploitation and theactual amount of the debt they will have to repay. In this regard Sophie Samyn found that: ‘The
proposed loan of 30,000 to 60,000 euros is an abstract amount that they think they can earn back inthe shortest possible time.’119 Nevertheless, she also found that even when these women had arrived
in Europe and experienced exploitation, some of them still believed their traffickers ‘helped’ them orprovided them with an opportunity:‘The girls often have a complex relationship with their sponsor. “I do what she says, because
she is my boss. Ultimately she made it possible for me to come to Europe. I'm grateful to her,”says Rose, who left when she was barely sixteen. And Vivian says, “My sister and a friend weremy madams. They paid for my crossing. When I found out what I had to do, I got very angry.
We did not speak for two years, but I paid my debt. My sister had gone through the samething, allowing me to go to school. In the end she also helped me to get papers, she really

113 Apard, E., et al., «La prostitution, ça ne tue pas !», 2020, url, p. 61
114 Translated by drafter from the Dutch original: ‘In Edo is er een vorm van collectieve medeplichtigheid wanneer het overgedwongen prostitutiemigratie gaat. Mensen in Benin City hebbben over het algemeen weet van de prostitutie enbeschouwen het als iets wat de moeite loont, omdat velen er van mee profiteren.’ Samyn, S., Seksmigratie als deel van deoverlevingseconomie in Nigeria [Sex migration as part of the survival economy in Nigeria], 2018, url, p. 7. See also: Thomsom
Reuters Foundation, Nigeria: Tolerance of Trafficking Protects Nigeria's Trade in Humans, 28 May 2020, url
115 Samyn, S., Seksmigratie als deel van de overlevingseconomie in Nigeria [Sex migration as part of the survival economy in
Nigeria], 2018, url, pp. 7, 9
116 CLEEN & Pathfinders Justice Initiative, Pathway to Prevention, 2020, url, pp. 19-20
117 Vanderhurst, S., Governing with God: Religion, Resistance, and the State in Nigeria's Counter‐Trafficking Programs, 2017,
url, p 195
118 Vanderhurst, S., Governing with God: Religion, Resistance, and the State in Nigeria's Counter‐Trafficking Programs, 2017,
url, p 195
119 Translated by drafter from the Dutch original: ‘De voorgestelde lening van 30.000 tot 60.000 euro is een abstract bedragdat ze binnen de kortste keren denken te kunnen terugverdienen’. Samyn, S., Seksmigratie als deel van deoverlevingseconomie in Nigeria [Sex migration as part of the survival economy in Nigeria], 2018, url, p. 7

20

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

helped me. ” Although she ended up in prostitution against her will, Vivian understood it now
was her turn.’120
The existence of this complex attitude amongst trafficking victims towards the phenomenon itself andthe women who brought them to Europe was also observed by the migration sociologist Maria
Shaidrova.121
Lastly, research indicated that the large influx of returnees from Libya (see Chapter 3) has contributed
to increased awareness about the dangers of sex trafficking.122 Experts who were interviewed for this(EASO) report indicated that the fact that crossing to Europe has become very difficult in the recent
years, has dissuaded Edo women – and other Nigerian migrants - to disembark on a journey to Europe,
but that it has not dissuaded them from leaving Benin City, which is reflected in the fact that Edo
women are increasingly travelling to other destinations.123

1.3.2 Pregnant trafficking victims
During the reporting period, concerns emerged about the exploitation of pregnant Nigerian women.
In 2020, Dutch law enforcement authorities also expressed concern about the disappearance of tensof heavily pregnant Nigerian asylum seekers from reception centres, giving rise to the suspicion that
Nigerian trafficking rings were engaged in baby trafficking.124 Maria Shaidrova indicated that there
were many rumours amongst Nigerian migrants in Italy about the increased chances of getting asylum
and social security in some EU Member States in case one is pregnant. This has resulted in high rates
of pregnant Nigerian trafficking victims who move to other EU countries, only to disappear again once
they discover that pregnancy/child birth does not result in better protection.125 Sine Plambech
confirmed the existence of this phenomenon and indicated that many of these women also disappear
from asylum centres because they need to work to earn money.126 Reports from Italy indicated that
drug traffickers use pregnant Nigerian women as ‘drug mules’, because they raise less suspicion.127

120 Translated by drafter from the Dutch original: ‘De meisjes hebben vaak een complexe relatie met hun sponsor. “Ik doe

wat ze zegt, want ze is mijn baas. Uiteindelijk heeft ze het mogelijk gemaakt dat ik naar Europa kon komen. Ik ben haar
dankbaar,” zegt Rose, die vertrok toen ze amper zestien was. En Vivian vertelt: “Mijn zus en een vriendin waren mijn
madams. Zij betaalden mijn overtocht. Toen ik erachter kwam wat ik moest doen, ben ik heel kwaad geworden. We spraken
twee jaar lang niet met elkaar, maar ik betaalde mijn schuld. Mijn zus had hetzelfde doorstaan en daardoor heb ik naar
school kunnen gaan. Uiteindelijk hielp zij me ook om papieren te krijgen, ze heeft me echt geholpen.” Hoewel ze tegen haarwil in de prostitutie terechtkwam, begreep Vivian dat het nu haar beurt was.’ Samyn, S., Seksmigratie als deel van deoverlevingseconomie in Nigeria [Sex migration as part of the survival economy in Nigeria], 2018, url, p. 9
121 Maria Shaidrova, PhD Candidate Tilburg University, interview 24 February 2021
122 CLEEN & Pathfinders Justice Initiative, Pathway to Prevention, 2020, url, pp. 15-16
123 Plambech, S., Senior Researcher DIIS, interview 1 March 2021; Idahosa, R. Evon, Founder/Executive Director Pathfinders
Justice Initiative, interview 24 February 2021
124 VPRO, Zwangere Afrikaanse asielzoeksters verdwijnen uit opvang [Pregnant African asylumseekers disappear fromreception centres], 19 February 2020, url
125 Maria Shaidrova, PhD Candidate Tilburg University, interview 24 February 2021. See also: Olabisi Oluwatoyin T. and A.
Akinyoade, Coercion or Volition: Making Sense of the Experiences of Female Victims of Trafficking from Nigeria in the
Netherlands, 2015, url, p. 185
126 Plambech, S., Senior Researcher DIIS, interview 1 March 2021
127 ABC News, In a ruined city on the Italian coast, the Nigerian mafia is muscling in on the old mob, 16 March 2020, url

21

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

1.3.3 Male Nigerian victims of human trafficking in Europe
Some sources suspected a rise in the number of male Nigerian victims of human trafficking inEurope.128 Recent studies, however, identified a scarcity of knowledge about the profiles andexperiences of this group.129

Smuggling vs trafficking
It is expected that most Nigerian men are smuggled, rather than trafficked towards Europe, meaningthat they – and/or their families130 – generally pay smugglers in advance to facilitate the journey
towards Libya and crossing of the Mediterranean.131 According to research and articles in international
media, some male Nigerian migrants made the decision to travel to Europe themselves, while others
were forced by family members to go. Some were well prepared and saved up for the journey inadvance, whereas others decided to leave spontaneously.132 One source indicated that many male
Nigerians from southern Nigeria who decided to travel to Europe were members of cultist groups andbenefited from support of other members of their cults who were already in Europe when navigating
the journey.133 This model is different from the model used by many Nigerian female victims of humantrafficking for whom the journey is paid in advance by sponsors who then expect them to reimburse– highly inflated – debts through prostitution in Europe (more in Section 2.3). However, male Nigerians
have become victims of trafficking/modern slavery during their journey towards Europe - especiallyin Libya134 - and also upon arrival in Europe.135

Exploitation in various spheres
8 % of Nigerian victims of human trafficking detected in Europe in 2017 and 2018 were men.136 Data
provided by the European Commission on the types of exploitation experienced by Nigerian victimsof human trafficking in Europe in 2017 and 2018 do not distinguish between men and women. The
majority of victims (68 %) – presumably mostly women - were subjected to sex exploitation. However,Nigerian victims of trafficking in the EU were also subjected to other types of exploitation, including
domestic servitude (5 %), forced labour (3 %), forced criminality (1 %), forced begging (1 %), and other

128 Netherlands, Nationaal Rapporteur Mensenhandel, Slachtoffermonitor Mensenhandel 2015-2019, 2020 [Victim Monitor

Human Trafficking 2015-2019], url, p. 19; Heeringa, A., Team Leader Perspectives on Rights, Salvation Army, interview 19
November 2020
129 University of Bedfordshire, Vulnerability to Human Trafficking: A Study of Vietnam, Albania, Nigeria and the UK - Reportof Shared Learning Event held in Lagos, Nigeria: 17-18 January 2018, October 2018, url, p.8; Netherlands, Nationaal
Rapporteur Mensenhandel, Slachtoffermonitor Mensenhandel 2015-2019 [Victim Monitor Human Trafficking 2015-2019],
2020, url, p. 19; OHCHR, End of visit statement, Nigeria (3-10 September) by Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, UN Special
Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, 10 September 2018, url
130 Olusegun Ikuteyijo, L., Irregular Migration as Survival Strategy: Narratives from Youth in Urban Nigeria, West African Youth
Challenges and Opportunity Pathways, url, pp. 69-70, 73; BBC, I sold all I had to go to Europe - now I'm home, and broke, 7
May 2018, url
131 Samyn, S., Seksmigratie als deel van de overlevingseconomie in Nigeria [Sex migration as part of the survival economy in
Nigeria], 2018, url, p. 7; UNHCR, Mixed Migration Routes and Dynamics in Libya in 2018, June 2019, url, p. 23. According tothis source most Nigerians, with the exception of Nigerian women, engage in ‘step-by-step’ journeys with different smugglers
who are paid in advance. This also applies to (male) children, see: Digidiki, V. and J. Bhabha/IOM, Returning Home: The
reintegration challenges facing child and youth returnees from Libya to Nigeria, 2019, url, p. 20
132 Kuschminder, K., Before disembarkation: Eritrean and Nigerian migrants journeys within Africa, Journal of Ethnic andMigration Studies, 2020, url
133 Maria Shaidrova, PhD Candidate Tilburg University, interview 24 February 2021
134 TIME, 'It Was As if We Weren’t Human.' Inside the Modern Slave Trade Trapping African Migrants, 14 March 2019, url
135 TIME, 'It Was As if We Weren’t Human.' Inside the Modern Slave Trade Trapping African Migrants, 14 March 2019, url
136 European Commission, Data collection on trafficking in human beings in the EU, 2020, url, p. 169

22

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

types of exploitation (16 %).137 Between 2017 and 2018 there were no registered reports of Nigerians
who were victim of organ harvesting in Europe. In 2019, there was at least one report of such a case.138
Sources indicated that some illegal male Nigerian migrants in Europe join Nigerian gangs – which
engage mostly in drug related crimes - upon arrival in Europe.139 The Guardian found that an Italian
reception centre for asylum seekers in Sicily had become a recruitment ground for criminal groups:‘The centre has become a lawless place where people are easy prey for criminal gangs. The
state funds these centres by giving them a sum of money for each asylum seeker, but manyof them cut corners on food and other amenities, and pocket the profits. Low-level membersof Italy’s various mafia organisations and Nigerian gangs come to the centre to recruit drug
mules and petty criminals among the bored, idle men who have given up on the life they
dreamed of when they crossed the sea.’140
Other research and reporting confirmed that Nigerians are used as ‘drug mules’. This occurs on flights
between Brazil and West-Africa within the framework of the drug trade between Latin America andEurope, in which West African countries act as a transit hub.141 Eurojust indicated that Nigerianorganised crime groups also use drug mules to transport drugs within Europe – while not specifying
the nationality of the drug mules.142 Reporting by ABC News confirmed the use of young African men
and Nigerian women as drug mules in Europe:‘The Pineta Grande also sees more drug mules than any other hospital in Italy. Doctors told
Foreign Correspondent young African men are arriving with stomachs full of narcotics, somesmuggling up to 1.2kg of cocaine in individually wrapped capsules the doctors describe as"eggs". In other parts of Italy, authorities have noticed a rise in the number of young pregnant
Nigerian women dying from drug overdoses when capsules burst inside them. Pregnant
women are less likely to face suspicion in transit. No one would imagine they could be drug
mules.’143
While migrants who join Nigerian gangs are generally not in debt bondage, sources emphasised that
it is very hard to leave such groups or refuse orders once one has become implied144, and that theindividuals who act as drug mules do not always appreciate the big (health) risks involved.145
EASO indicated in 2017 that ‘there is no public source material available reporting that the Nigerian
networks of “sponsors” and “madams” which facilitate migration for women also offer suchpossibilities for men, or that these networks in Europe organise men working in prostitution.’146 Based

137 European Commission, Data collection on trafficking in human beings in the EU, 2020, url, p. 166
138

Netherlands, Nationaal Rapporteur Mensenhandel, Slachtoffermonitor Mensenhandel 2015-2019 [Victim Monitor
Human Trafficking 2015-2019], 2020, url, p. 28
139 Euractiv, Money from Europe a lifeline for Nigerian families, 15 June 2017, url; Mossino, A., Director PIAM ONLUS,
interview 5 October 2020; Heeringa, A., Team Leader Perspectives on Rights, Salvation Army, interview 19 November 2020
140 Guardian (The0, ‘Migrants are more profitable than drugs’: how the mafia infiltrated Italy’s asylum system, 1 February
2018, url
141 Cohen, C., Development of the Brazilian Drug Market Toward Africa: Myths, Evidence and Theoretical Questions, Journalof Illicit Economies and Development, 2019, url
142 Eurojust, More than 200 arrests after drug trafficking network is dismantled with Eurojust support, 3 December 2020, url
143 ABC News, In a ruined city on the Italian coast, the Nigerian mafia is muscling in on the old mob, 16 March 2020, url
144 Maria Shaidrova, PhD Candidate Tilburg University, interview 24 February 2021; Harper Magazine, The Black Axe,
September 2019, url; ECPAT, Religious, Social and Criminal Groups in Trafficking of Nigerian Girls and Women, March 2019,url, p. 152
145 Cohen, C., Development of the Brazilian Drug Market Toward Africa: Myths, Evidence and Theoretical Questions, Journalof Illicit Economies and Development, 2019, url, p. 139.
146 EASO, Country of Origin Information Report: Nigeria Country Focus, June 2017, url, p. 45

23

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beingson the available information, this still seems to be the case. However, sources did identify individual
cases of Nigerian men exploited in the European sex industry.147
Anecdotal evidence indicated that adult male Nigerian victims of trafficking were exploited in the
agricultural sector in southern Europe.148

Boys
Research indicates that most Nigerian minors are smuggled to Europe, but often end up in situationsof exploitation because they do not have the means to finance the whole travel.149 There were someindications that Nigerian boys are being trafficked – i.e. not smuggled - to Europe from Nigeria.150
Different sources detected cases of football trafficking of Nigerian boys. These boys were lured toEurope on the pretext of a career with a professional football club to eventually become victims of
exploitation outside the football industry.151
Anecdotal evidence shows that during the last couple of years Nigerian boys have been trafficked toEurope for sexual exploitation or ended up in sexual exploitation after arrival in Europe.152 In 2016
social workers in the UK indicated they often encountered trafficked Nigerian boys across African boys
ending up in a combination of domestic servitude and sexual exploitation.153 A Nigeria-based
European journalist indicated to know two cases of Nigerian boys who had been trafficked together
with their sisters to Europe for sexual exploitation.154

147 Heeringa, A., Team Leader Perspectives on Rights, Salvation Army, interview 19 November 2020; Netherlands, Nationaal

Rapporteur Mensenhandel, Slachtoffermonitor Mensenhandel 2015-2019 [Victim Monitor Human Trafficking 2015-2019],
2020, url, p. 28; The Children’s Society, Boys Don't Cry: Improving identification and disclosure of sexual exploitation of boys
and young men trafficked to the UK, 2016, url, p. 53.
148 TIME, 'It Was As if We Weren’t Human.' Inside the Modern Slave Trade Trapping African Migrants, 14 March 2019, url
149 Digidiki, V. and J. Bhabha/IOM, Returning Home: The reintegration challenges facing child and youth returnees from Libya
to Nigeria, 2019, url, p. 20.
150 International Organisation A, confidential report December 2020, p. 21; Al Jazeera, African footballers stranded aroundthe world with crushed dreams, 26 August 2019, url; Premium Times, Football agents in Nigeria tasked on trafficking, othervices, 13 November 2019, url
151 Al Jazeera, African footballers stranded around the world with crushed dreams, 26 August 2019, url; Premium Times,
Football agents in Nigeria tasked on trafficking, other vices, 13 November 2019, url
152 Netherlands, Nationaal Rapporteur Mensenhandel, Slachtoffermonitor Mensenhandel 2015-2019 [Victim Monitor
Human Trafficking 2015-2019], 2020, url, p. 19; The Children’s Society, Boys Don't Cry: Improving identification anddisclosure of sexual exploitation of boys and young men trafficked to the UK, 2016, url, p. 53.
153 The Children’s Society, Boys Don't Cry: Improving identification and disclosure of sexual exploitation of boys and young
men trafficked to the UK, 2016, url, p. 53
154 Foreign journalist, interview 28 October 202024

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

2. Modus operandi of THB in Nigeria forsexual exploitation in Europe
The modi operandi of trafficking in human beings in Nigeria differentiate between the type of
trafficking (sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, forced labour, etc.), the type of victim and thedestination.155 This chapter describes the organisation of trafficking in human beings from Nigeria to
Europe with a focus on the trafficking of female victims for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Sex
trafficking of women from Nigeria consists of three phases: recruitment, the journey towards Europe
and exploitation in Europe. As the following paragraphs will show, since the previous EASO report on
sex trafficking of Nigerian women (2015), the journey towards Europe has become significantly moredifficult due to the deteriorating civil war in Libya, and the measures to stem the influx of migrants to
Italy.156 This section attempts to provide insight in the impact of these developments on the modus
operandi of Nigerian sex trafficking networks.

2.1 Structure and size of Nigerian trafficking networks
The 2015 EASO report on sex trafficking of Nigerian women indicated that these operations consistedof networks with cellular structures, of which cells operated independently while drawing on an
extensive network of personal contacts to run these operations.157 It found madams and members ofconfraternities (also often referred to as cults), which started out as student organisations but evolved
into criminal groups, to be central to the process.158 However, it also identified conflicting visions withregard to the modus operandi of traffickers and roles of/hierarchy between the different actors
involved.159 Recent criminal investigations into and prosecutions of Nigerian sex traffickers in various
EU Member States have increased the level of insight into the mechanisms of this phenomenon160, as
have studies with Nigerian trafficking victims in Europe and Nigeria.161
These sources mostly confirm the involvement of both actors in sex trafficking of Nigerian women,
but continue to put forward differing views on the relations between these actors and do not provide
clear insight in the way in which the situation in Libya has changed the modus operandi of trafficking
networks. The existence of these different viewpoints partly attests to the opaque nature of Nigerian
sex trafficking and the lack of high quality data on this phenomenon, but could also reflect – as the2015 EASO report on sex trafficking suggested - that modus operandi differentiate between different
trafficking cells.162 Various experts emphasised the need for more research on the functioning ofNigerian trafficking networks in order to make authoritative claims about their functioning.163 The

155 International Organisation A, confidential report December 2020, p. 24
156 Washington Post (The), Returned to a war zone: One boat. Dozens of dreams. All blocked by Europe’s anti-migrantpolicies., 28 December 2019, url
157 EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information Report - Nigeria – Sex Trafficking of women, October 2015, url, p. 21
158 EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information Report - Nigeria – Sex Trafficking of women, October 2015, url, pp. 20-21
159 EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information Report - Nigeria – Sex Trafficking of women, October 2015, url, pp. 20-21
160 rfi, Nigerian sex trafficking syndicate on trial in France, 6 November 2019, url; Infomigrants, Germany 'the brothel ofEurope' for trafficked Nigerian women, 9 December 2019, url; Guardian (The), Escape: the woman who brought her trafficker
to justice, 27 August 2020, url; BBC, Spanish police break up Nigerian sex trafficking gang, 23 March 2018, url; ABC News, Ina ruined city on the Italian coast, the Nigerian mafia is muscling in on the old mob, 16 March 2020, url
161 Belgium, MYRIA, Jaarlijks Evaluatieverslag Mensenhandel 2019 [Annual Evaluation Report Human trafficking 2019], 2020,
url; Apard, E., et al., «La prostitution, ça ne tue pas !», 2020, url
162 EASO analysis by drafter. EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information Report - Nigeria – Sex Trafficking of women, October
2015, url, p. 20.
163 Plambech, S., Senior Researcher DIIS, interview 1 March 2021; Peano, I., University of Lisbon, email exchange 27 February2021; Representative of international organisation A, interview 26 February 202025

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

following paragraphs explore the most recent insights about Nigerian trafficking networks andpotential explanations for changes in modus operandi.

2.1.1 Madams
According to the EASO report on sex trafficking of Nigerian women (2015), most sources indicatedthat so-called ‘madams’, Nigerian women who mostly worked as prostitutes in the past and/or werevictims of sexual exploitation in Europe themselves, were at the centre of these networks.164 They
initiated recruitment of victims, financed the journey and monitored the exploitation in Italy.165 The
report specified that madams often operated in couples, with one madam being located in Europe
and the other in Nigeria.166 Madams mostly relied on the support of organised crime groups withrepresentatives in destinations along the trafficking route and in Europe to facilitate the journey offemale trafficking victims from Nigeria to the EU.167 Various criminal investigations into Nigeriantrafficking rings in Europe confirmed the continuing prominence of the model centred on these female
traffickers in the organisation of sex trafficking from Nigeria to Europe. These women were coresuspects in criminal investigations into trafficking in for instance Spain168, France169, Italy170,
Belgium171, and Germany.172 However, as will be discussed in the subsequent paragraphs, some recent
court cases in Europe put into question the enduring prominence of this model.

Ladies clubs
In some European countries (e.g. France, Belgium and The Netherlands)173, madams have establishedladies clubs, which sometimes have ties to similar groups in Nigeria. While there is strong evidence
that these Europe-based ladies’ clubs – which consist entirely of madams – are involved in trafficking,there is no conclusive evidence that Nigerian ladies’ clubs are necessarily involved in this practice.174
Nevertheless, it has been suggested that ladies’ clubs ‘form an international network which allows
madams to strengthen the links between their own trafficking networks’.175

Impact of the situation in Libya on activities of madams
Madams are also based in Libya, where Nigerian sex trafficking victims are exploited on their way toEurope, or where Libya sometimes acts as the final destination. Madams in Italy and Libya cooperate
and/or engage in a two way process of selling and buying Nigerian women and girls.176 Some research
indicated that madams have lost influence over trafficking operations because of the developments

164 EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information Report - Nigeria – Sex Trafficking of women, October 2015, url, p. 21
165 EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information Report - Nigeria – Sex Trafficking of women, October 2015, url, p. 22.
166 EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information Report - Nigeria – Sex Trafficking of women, October 2015, url, p. 21.
167 EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information Report - Nigeria – Sex Trafficking of women, October 2015, url, p. 20.
168 Rodríguez López, S., Getting to Know Women Convicted of Human Trafficking in Spain: Personal Profiles and Involvement

in Crime, Women & Criminal Justice, 2020, url, pp. 6-7
169 rfi, Nigerian prostitution network dismantled in France, 6 October 2018, url; France Inter, Kate, survivante de la traite
nigériane : "Je suis fière d’être debout aujourd’hui pour raconter tout ça", 1 July 2020, url
170 Guardian (The), Escape: the woman who brought her trafficker to justice, 27 Augustus 2020, url
171 Belgium, MYRIA, Jaarlijks Evaluatieverslag Mensenhandel 2019 [Annual Evaluation Report Human Trafficking 2019], 2020,
url, p. 54
172 Infomigrants, Germany 'the brothel of Europe' for trafficked Nigerian women, 9 December 2019, url
173 IFRA, United We (Net)work: An Online and Offline Analysis of Nigerian Women’s Clubs, 2 March 2019, url, p. 23
174 ECPAT, Religious, Social and Criminal Groups in Trafficking of Nigerian Girls and Women, March 2019, url, pp. 133-136
175 Apard, E., et al., «La prostitution, ça ne tue pas !», 2020, url, p. 58
176 IOM, Human Trafficking Through the Central Mediterranean Route: Data, Stories and Information Collected by theInternational Organization for Migration, 2017, url, p. 30

26

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beingsin Libya177, where Libyan criminals and armed groups are in charge of Nigerian women/girls as soon
as they cross the border. 178 In this regard, IOM remarked in 2017 that:‘The control of victims by traffickers during their stay in transit countries is made difficult by
the social and political instability reigning in these countries. Particular reference is made to
Libya, the last stop before sea crossing, where victims of trafficking wait to embark, along withother migrants, for variable periods of time. If in the past traffickers were able to monitor
their victims, while in the last year, because of instability and the rise of rebel groups, they
have not been able to have a full control over the situation.’179
These Libyan actors have been accused of both sexually exploiting Nigerian women as well as forcing
their family members back home or madams in Italy to pay ransom in exchange for their liberation.180
Others indicated that Nigerian trafficking networks have representatives in Libya181, have managed tomake agreements with Libyan criminals, and are increasingly in charge of the trafficking/smuggling ofindividuals of other (West African) nationalities.182

2.1.2 Organised crime networks and cults
Madams rely on the services of others – mostly men – during various stages of the trafficking
trajectory.183 Insights about the relationships and power dynamics between madams and organised
crime groups differentiate. Some sources suggested that madams mostly rely on these men for various
services (for more details, see below).184 Other (European law enforcement) sources indicated that in Italy notably - certain powerful Nigerian criminal gangs are actually in charge of trafficking
operations.185 Others argued these groups control some of the territories where the madams run theirprostitution businesses and require them to pay tax for the right to be active in these territories186,
but are not actually engaged in trafficking themselves.187

Synergies between madams and organised crime groups
The NGO ECPAT France, which conducted research on networks of human trafficking in Nigeria,
indicated that a symbiosis exists between madams and criminals, who often belong to so-called cults.
Cults originated as confraternities in Nigerian universities, but developed into violent gangs, which
terrorise campuses and have become increasingly involved in violence and crime outside universities
as well.188 Madams mostly rely on the criminals for a range of services189, and often have romantic

177 Pascoal, R., Stranded: The New Trendsetters of the Nigerian Human Trafficking Criminal Networks for Sexual Purposes,

2018, url, p. 14
178 IOM, Human Trafficking Through the Central Mediterranean Route, 2017, url, p. 29
179 IOM, Human Trafficking Through the Central Mediterranean Route, 2017, url, p. 29
180 Pascoal, R., Stranded: The New Trendsetters of the Nigerian Human Trafficking Criminal Networks for Sexual Purposes,
2018, url, p. 14
181 Belgium, Myria, Jaarlijks Evaluatieverslag Mensenhandel 2019 [Annual Evaluation Report Human Trafficking 2019], 2020,
url, p. 58; Heeringa, A., Team Leader Perspectives on Rights, Salvation Army, email exchange 23 February 2021
182 Heeringa, A., Team Leader Perspectives on Rights, Salvation Army, email exchange 23 February 2021
183 International Organisation A, confidential report December 2020, p. 26
184 ECPAT, Religious, Social and Criminal Groups in Trafficking of Nigerian Girls and Women, March 2019, url, p. 145
185 European Migrant Smuggling Centre, 4th Annual Report, 2020, url, p. 21
186 Idahosa, R. Evon, Founder/Executive Director Pathfinders Justice Initiative, interview 24 February 2021; ABC News, In aruined city on the Italian coast, the Nigerian mafia is muscling in on the old mob, 16 March 2020, url. The academic researcher
Irene Peano also indicated that there are indications that Nigerian organised crime groups are benefiting from joint rental(i.e. they control the territory and exact taxes on all illicit economic activities) and that some of the money made throughtrafficking of women/girls gets reinvested in the drug business. However, she also indicated this phenomenon has not been
sufficiently researched to make definite claims. Peano, I., University of Lisbon, email exchange 27 February 2021.
187 Plambech, S., Senior Researcher DIIS, interview 1 March 2021
188 SBM Intel, Rivers of blood: Gang violence in Nigeria’s garden state, 22 June 2020, url, pp. 3-6
189 ECPAT, Religious, Social and Criminal Groups in Trafficking of Nigerian Girls and Women, March 2019, url, pp. 167-169

27

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

relationships with them.190 Victims in France indicated, for instance, that before their departure men
accompanied them to shrines to take oaths191, and that they also acted as ‘trolleys’192, transporting
victims from Nigeria to destination countries.193 These men also exerted pressure on victims’ family
members when victims failed to pay their debts.194 The research showed that male accomplices –often in their capacity of boyfriends of Europe-based madams – also provided services in thedestination country. These included the provision of apartments, conflict management between
madams who are operating in the same territory, and debt collection amongst trafficking victims,
sometimes through violent means.195

Nigerian organised crime groups in charge of trafficking operations?
Conflicting accounts exist about the extent to which Nigerian organised crime groups are in charge oftrafficking operations themselves, what is the role of madams in these groups, and how closely they
are linked to confraternities/cults, which suggests that from one case of trafficking to another, thedegree of involvement of these various actors might not be the same.196
Some stakeholders identified the emergence of sophisticated and powerful Nigerian organised crime
networks in charge of trafficking operations via the central Mediterranean route. Europol, forinstance, emphasised in a 2020 report that powerful Nigerian cults are at the heart of sex trafficking
operations:197‘Nigerian networks achieved significant influence in EU organised crime by regularcooperation with local criminal groups. Besides THB, Nigerian networks are known to be active
in other criminal businesses linked to THB, such as fraud, corruption, migrant smuggling,
counterfeiting of documents and money laundering. They are also involved in trafficking anddistribution of various types of drugs and currency counterfeiting.
Most of the groups are so-called confraternities; often cult groups that developed in Nigerian
universities. They are based on gang culture with a strict hierarchy and using specific colours,
gestures and language. They are well organised both geographically and logistically, and areable to mobilise a large number of human resources. One of their main strengths is theirdistribution in hubs along the trafficking routes from Nigeria to transit and destination
countries, and the support of personal contacts carrying out various activities linked to thetrafficking business.’198
Citing Italy's national anti-mafia and anti-terrorism prosecutor Federico Cafiero de Raho, Infomigrants
suggested that these networks have a well-established presence throughout Europe: ‘The Nigerian
crime world has "sections in almost all Italian regions and all European countries", de Raho said. In
Italy, there are various brotherhoods - such as the Axe, Eiye and - more recently - Viking that seem"for the time being not connected to each other”.’199 Some journalists indicated that ‘the Nigerianmafia’ (with specific reference to the Black Axe) is in charge of human trafficking of both Nigerian
women and men in southern Italy, sharing some of the profit with the local mafia.200 Similarly,
reporting by another media outlet indicated that also in Sicily sex trafficking of Nigerian women and

190 ECPAT, Religious, Social and Criminal Groups in Trafficking of Nigerian Girls and Women, March 2019 url, p. 166; Maria

Shaidrova, PhD Candidate Tilburg University, interview 24 February 2021
191 ECPAT, Religious, Social and Criminal Groups in Trafficking of Nigerian Girls and Women, March 2019, url, p. 167
192 Trolleys are illegal smugglers for humans across borders.
193 ECPAT, Religious, Social and Criminal Groups in Trafficking of Nigerian Girls and Women, March 2019, url, p. 168
194 ECPAT, Religious, Social and Criminal Groups in Trafficking of Nigerian Girls and Women, March 2019, url, pp. 168-169
195 ECPAT, Religious, Social and Criminal Groups in Trafficking of Nigerian Girls and Women, March 2019, url, p. 152
196 EASO analysis by drafter.
197 European Migrant Smuggling Centre, 4th Annual Report, 2020, url, p. 21
198 European Migrant Smuggling Centre, 4th Annual Report, 2020, url, pp. 21-22
199 Infomigrants, 'African mafias work together in Italy,' national prosecutor says, 29 November 2019, url
200 ABC News, In a ruined city on the Italian coast, the Nigerian mafia is muscling in on the old mob, 16 March 2020, url

28

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

girls has become increasingly organised (and violent) due to the involvement ‘of numerous secretsocieties and criminal gangs, such as the so-called Black Axe, Vikings or Supreme Eiye Fraternity’.201
Other sources have found that while men and male-dominated crime groups are playing an
increasingly important role in sex trafficking, these actors are not necessarily linked to cults. A French
research study into the functioning of trafficking networks quoted a law enforcement official, whostated that: ‘There is definitely a development here, where the “madams” are now one of theelements of a much more complex organisation in which men play an increasingly important role.’202
A criminal investigation into a French trafficking network, for instance, indicated that a Nigerian‘priest’ was the kingpin in a Lyon-based trafficking network consisting of ten women andapproximately a dozen male accomplices.203

No high levels of engagement of Nigerian organised crime groups in sex trafficking
Nigerian stakeholders and international researchers who extensively studied Nigerian sex trafficking,however, challenged the entire notion that highly organised Nigerian crime groups are in charge ofsex trafficking.204 A study by an international organisation indicated that:‘Some stakeholders felt that the major involvement of cults or confraternities in trafficking
was more of a myth than the reality, as trafficking was much more fluid and opportunistic,
thriving on the insecurity and lack of opportunity in the country. It was also consideredunhelpful to ‘attach labels’ when a range of criminal types were involved. European
stakeholders consulted tended to focus on reports about the involvement of cult groups, withmuch of the information stemming from European police reports rather than from law
enforcement agencies in Nigeria.’205
Various experts consulted for this EASO report also questioned the existence of a high level oforganisation within Nigerian trafficking operations. Based on fieldwork amongst migrant communities
in Palermo, Maria Shaidrova questioned the actual power of and level of organisation amongst cultsin Italy. She indicated that while Italy-based cult members did assist madams, they were neither incharge of sex trafficking, nor highly organised in their activities.206 Sine Plambech also indicated that
she had found no evidence through ethnographic research, that the Europe-based Nigerian organised
crime groups which are involved in trafficking of drugs and weapons are now organising humantrafficking from Nigeria to Europe as well.207
In 2021, the Swedish police had no clear evidence that Nigerian cults, which are engaged in drugtrafficking in Sweden, are in charge of sex trafficking operations as well, according to reporting in the
media and information provided by an anonymous source.208

Madams paying tax to organised crime groups
Sources indicated that in certain locations in Europe, where Nigerian organised crime groups which
engaged in drug trafficking had a strong presence – e.g. Marseille, Castel Volturno and Sicily – might
indeed try to benefit from human trafficking organised by madams, by forcing madams to pay tax. The
201 DW, How the 'Nigerian mafia' exploits African women in Europe, 25 December 2019, url
202 ECPAT, Religious, Social and Criminal Groups in Trafficking of Nigerian Girls and Women, p. 170, March 2019, url
203 Infomigrants, Nigerian sex trafficking syndicate on trial in France , 6 November 2019, url; Le Monde, Jusqu’à sept ans deprison pour 24 membres d’un réseau de prostitution de femmes nigérianes, 29 November 2019, url
204 Plambech, S., Senior Researcher DIIS, interview 1 March 2021; Maria Shaidrova, PhD Candidate Tilburg University,interview 24 February 2021
205 International Organisation A, confidential report December 2020, p. 25
206 Maria Shaidrova, PhD Candidate Tilburg University, interview 24 February 2021
207 Plambech, S., Senior Researcher DIIS, interview 1 March 2021
208 European diplomat, email exchange 11 February 2021; Sputnik International, 'Black Axe': Reports of African Drug Mafia
Taking Over Sweden, 23 July 2019, url

29

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

director of a Nigerian anti-trafficking NGO noticed this dynamic during a field visit to Castel Volturno.
Female trafficking victims informed her, that their madams had to pay organised crime groups to let
their women/girls use parts of the street in Castel Volturno for street prostitution.209 However,research showed that prostitution in places such as Marseille has historically relied on territorial
protection and informal taxation, in which African pimps have played a role since the beginning of the20th century.210 Sources, therefore, indicated that in order to make robust claims about thisphenomenon and the degree to which Nigerian organised crime groups are involved in this practice
today, more research is required.211

2.2 Means of recruitment for trafficking
The 2015 EASO report on sex trafficking of Nigerian women identified different models for the
recruitment of women from Benin City/Edo State in particular. It cited sources that indicated that: 1)
women themselves would approach traffickers212, 2) family members or acquaintances would put
them in contact with traffickers213, or 3) women would be approached by strangers on the street.214
Recent research and articles in media confirmed the continuing existence of each of these models.
Some sources indicated the existence of a fourth more fragmented ‘smuggling’ model whereby thejourney from Nigeria to Europe would not necessarily be controlled and organised by one
madam/trafficker from beginning to end. Some researchers argue that this model has become more
important, because madams have lost control over the trafficking trajectory due to the insecurity in
Libya, and it has become more difficult to traffic women into Europe due to measure to stop the influxof migrants via the Mediterranean (see Sections 2.1 and 2.5). This section first discusses thedevelopments surrounding the traditional model and then delves deeper into the more fragmented
smuggling model.

2.2.1 Recruitment in Nigeria
A study of recruitment practices in a specific area of Benin City, by a Nigerian anti-trafficking NGO
indicated that various types of individuals are involved in the creation of links between traffickers andpotential victims. On the side of the traffickers, some madams are based in Nigeria and are themselves
recruiting women and girls. Some Europe-based madams regularly travel themselves to Nigeria torecruit victims215, or use middlemen. These include their boyfriends, who they send to Nigeria to

209 Idahosa, R. Evon, Founder/Executive Director Pathfinders Justice Initiative, interview 24 February 2021
210 See for instance: Sylvain, P., Souteneurs noirs à Marseille, 1918-1921 Contribution à l'histoire de la minorité noire en

France [*], Annales. Histoire, Sciences Sociales, 2009, url, pp. 1361-1386
211 Guardian (The), ‘Migrants are more profitable than drugs’: how the mafia infiltrated Italy’s asylum system, 1 February
2018, url; Plambech, S., Senior Research DIIS, interview 1 March 2021; Peano, I., University of Lisbon, email exchange 27
February 2021
212 EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information Report - Nigeria – Sex Trafficking of women, October 2015, url, p. 22-23. Source:
Plambech, S., Points of Departure, 2014, p.39; Skilbrei, M.-L. & M. Tveit, Facing return, 2007, p. 27; Pascoal, R., The situationof the Nigerian human trafficking victims’ and their children in Italy, 19 December 2012, p. 6
213 EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information Report - Nigeria – Sex Trafficking of women, October 2015, url, p. 22-23. Source:
Skilbrei, M.-L. & M. Tveit, Facing return, 2007, p. 27; DIS, Protection of victims of trafficking in Nigeria, April 2008, p. 30;
Carling, J., Migration, Human Smuggling and Trafficking from Nigeria to Europe, 2006, p. 27; Landinfo, Trafficking in Women,
May 2006, p. 14; Cherti, M. et al., Beyond Borders, January 2013, pp. 38-39
214 EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information Report - Nigeria – Sex Trafficking of women, October 2015, url, p. 22-23. Source:
Skilbrei, M.-L. & M. Tveit, Facing return, 2007, p. 27; Cherti, M. et al., Beyond Borders, January 2013, p. 39. Cherti., M. et al.,Beyond Borders, January 2013, pp 5, 39. See for anecdotal evidence: BBC, Human trafficking - The lives bought and sold, 28
July 2015.
215 L’Express, Qui est Jessica Edosomwan, la fugitive la plus recherchée de France ?, 18 October 2019, url

30

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

recruit for them.216 They also rely on family members back home217, former trafficking victims218, or
various types of professional recruiters including so-called burgers (also known as trolleys orconnection men: men who accompany victims during – a part of - the journey), scouters, juju
priests219, and Christian pastors.220 These ‘professional’ recruiters are predominantly women andoperate both in the streets as well as online via social media and WhatsApp.221
With regard to the victims’ side, recent studies and articles in media indicated that the second model,
in which family members or other acquaintances encourage a girl to be trafficked to Europe is mostcommon.222 According to Human Rights Watch, the majority of the 76 trafficking survivors theyinterviewed, said ‘they were trafficked by people they know, who prey on their desperation, making
false promises of paid employment, professional training, and education.’223 However, according to
Pathfinders Justice Initiative, many of what they described as ‘helpers’ ‘are generally not connected
to organised criminal networks and generally unaware of the inherent dangers that lay in wait for their
recruits’ and are ‘to a large extent […] genuinely motivated to help a young woman who they see
suffering from abject poverty find a better life abroad’.224 According to Apard and others, parents –and particularly mothers – in Edo State usually instigate the trafficking of their (oldest) daughters bygetting in touch with the Nigeria-based families of madams.225 This phenomenon also received
coverage in international media.226
Sources confirmed that in Benin City/Edo State some girls/women themselves actively looked foropportunities to travel to Europe via traffickers.227 In this regard Sophie Samyn remarked that: ‘Most
women are approached themselves in Edo, but there are also those who contact their friends in
Europe and ask around for sponsors who are very accessible anyway.’228

2.2.2 Smuggling model
Sources distinguished two types of journeys from Nigeria to Libya. The first type consists of the‘organised journeys’ described above, where, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs andCrime (UNODC) ‘highly-structured smuggling networks offer to take clients from their country of origin
to the Libyan coast or even to their destination of choice in Europe’. The other type is the step-by-stepjourneys, where ‘each smuggler, driver or intermediary is paid individually and is only in charge of a
216 CLEEN & Pathfinders Justice Initiative, Pathway to Prevention, 2020, url, p. 23
217 Apard, E., et al., «La prostitution, ça ne tue pas !», 2020,

url, p. 61 ; Belgium, MYRIA, Jaarlijks Evaluatieverslag
Mensenhandel 2019 [Annual Evaluation Report Human Trafficking 2019], 2020, url, p. 55; International Organisation A,
confidential report December 2020, p. 26
218 CLEEN & Pathfinders Justice Initiative, Pathway to Prevention, 2020, url, p. 25
219 CLEEN & Pathfinders Justice Initiative, Pathway to Prevention, 2020, url, pp. 23-24
220 CNN, The sex trafficking trail from Nigeria to Europe, 21 March 2018, url
221 CLEEN & Pathfinders Justice Initiative, Pathway to Prevention, 2020, url, p. 25; Interpol, Online African Organized Crime
from Surface to Dark Web, July 2020, url, pp. 22-24
222 Human Rights Watch, “You Pray for Death” Trafficking of Women and Girls in Nigeria, 2019, p. 4. url; Apard, E., et al., «La
prostitution, ça ne tue pas !», 2020, url, pp. 60-61 ; CLEEN & Pathfinders Justice Initiative, Pathway to Prevention, 2020, url,
pp. 24-25; See also: Conversation (The), How strong family ties play a role in sex trafficking in Nigeria, 12 February 2017, url
223 Human Rights Watch, “You Pray for Death” Trafficking of Women and Girls in Nigeria, 2019, url, p. 4. See also: ABC News,In a ruined city on the Italian coast, the Nigerian mafia is muscling in on the old mob, 16 March 2020, url
224 CLEEN & Pathfinders Justice Initiative, Pathway to Prevention, 2020, url, pp. 26-27
225 Apard, E., et al., «La prostitution, ça ne tue pas !», 2020, url, p. 61 . See also : Samyn, S., Seksmigratie als deel van deoverlevingseconomie in Nigeria [Sex migration as part of the survival economy in Nigeria], 2018, url, p. 7
226 Trouw, Benin City loopt leeg: waarom de vrouwenhandel van Afrika naar Europa niet te stoppen is [Benin City is emptying:
Why the trafficking of women from Africa to Europe cannot be stopped], 25 May 2018, url; Infomigrants, Italian police
uncover trafficking of Nigerian women, minors, 19 December 2019 url
227 Samyn, S., Seksmigratie als deel van de overlevingseconomie in Nigeria [Sex migration as part of the survival economy in
Nigeria], 2018, url, p. 7
228 Translated by drafter from the Dutch original: ‘De meeste vrouwen worden zelf benaderd in Edo, maar er zijn er ook die
hun vrienden in Europa contacteren en rondvragen naar sponsors die sowieso heel toegankelijk zijn.’ Samyn, S., Seksmigratie
als deel van de overlevingseconomie in Nigeria [Sex migration as part of the survival economy in Nigeria], 2018, url, p. 7

31

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

segment of travel from one location to another.’229 According to UNODC, most migrants from Western
Africa to Italy use the second option, except for Nigerian women being trafficked230, for whom thewhole trajectory is organised. This ‘organised journey’ model, typical of sex trafficking from Benin City,
has received most attention in international research and reporting about sex trafficking from Nigeria.
Experts, however, indicated that some Nigerian women who ended up as victims of sexual exploitation
actually organised their journeys themselves and relied on smugglers to go to Libya and subsequently
Europe231, and were not in debt bondage to a madam at the outset of their journey.232
The Director of a Nigerian NGO estimated that one out of ten Nigerian women who leave from Edo
State did so – initially – without the support of a sponsor.233 These women either saved up money inadvance or workedduring the journey. Some diplomats and NGOs believed that it is difficult todistinguish between smuggling and trafficking cases in view of the abuse and exploitation experienced
by Nigerian migrants during the journey, and suggested that trafficking often occurred as a result of
smuggling ‘gone wrong’.234 Various sources indicated that many of the women who left by themselves
ended up in some sort of debt bondage to smugglers because they ran out of money during thejourney235, and/or were tricked by their smugglers and sold to traffickers, often resulting in sexual
exploitation in so-called ‘connection houses’ in Libya.236 The director of a Nigerian anti-trafficking NGO
confirmed the existence of this practice. She indicated that women who left Nigeria without the
support of a sponsor, usually had to rely on a sponsor to pay the crossing of the Mediterranean. Whenmaking the crossing these women got the name of an unknown person they would have to contact
upon arrival in Italy, who then turned out to be the person who would exploit them in Europe.237 A
similar method was described in an article in the Guardian.238

2.2.3 Recruitment along the way
The journey has become less organised than in the past, also for most of the women whose travel isfunded by traffickers. According to Rafaela Pascoal ‘nowadays the phase of recruitment has become
more complex to comprehend, in which the girl has no awareness regarding its beginning andduration.’239 Pathfinders Justice Initiative confirmed this:‘It should be noted that although traffickers contend that victims are indebted to them for theoverland journey from Nigeria, many victims are regularly abandoned en route to Europe. In

229 UNHCR, Mixed Migration Routes and Dynamics in Libya in 2018, June 2019, url, p. 23. A similar distinction has been

identified by Pathfinders Justice Initiative: CLEEN & Pathfinders Justice Initiative, Pathway to Prevention, 2020, url, p. 21
230 UNHCR, Mixed Migration Routes and Dynamics in Libya in 2018, June 2019, url, p. 23
231 Washington Post (The), Nigerians return from slavery in Libya to thriving sex-trafficking industry back home, 23 January
2018, url ; Grotti, V. et al., Shifting vulnerabilities: gender and reproductive care on the migrant trail to Europe, 2018, url, p.
6
232 Idahosa, R. Evon, Founder/Executive Director Pathfinders Justice Initiative, interview 24 February 2021; Olabisi
Oluwatoyin T. and A. Akinyoade, Coercion or Volition: Making Sense of the Experiences of Female Victims of Trafficking from
Nigeria in the Netherlands, 2015, url, p. 186
233 Idahosa, R. Evon, Founder/Executive Director Pathfinders Justice Initiative, interview 24 February 2021
234 International Organisation A, confidential report December 2020, p. 22
235 Idahosa, R. Evon, Founder/Executive Director Pathfinders Justice Initiative, interview 24 February 2021; 4Mi, Hidden
Figures Women on the Move in Libya, September 2017, url, pp. 5-6; 4Mi, Invisible Labour Women’s labour migration to
Libya., December 2017, url, p. 8
236 Washington Post (The), Nigerians return from slavery in Libya to thriving sex-trafficking industry back home, 23 January
2018, url
237 Idahosa, R. Evon, Founder/Executive Director Pathfinders Justice Initiative, interview 24 February 2021
238 Guardian (The), ‘Migrants are more profitable than drugs’: how the mafia infiltrated Italy’s asylum system, 1 February
2018, url
239 Pascoal, R., Motherhood in the Context of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation, 2020, url, p. 47

32

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

an effort to advance the journey, victims are forced to start prostitution as soon as they leave
Nigeria and will continue to do so until their arrival in Europe.’240
Rafaela Pascoal observed that increasingly madams only get in touch with trafficking victims towards
the end of the journey, when victims are already in Libya.241 Pascoal identified cases in which girls who
thought they had been recruited by an Italy-based madam when they were still in Nigeria, lost touchwith this madam once in Libya and in the end got recruited from Libya by another Italy-based
madam.242
The academic researchers Sine Plambech and Irene Peano both indicated that traffickers were selling
trafficking victims and their debts along the way.243 IOM also found that madams are selling trafficking
victims to each other and that this was particularly the case with regard to victims who fell pregnant
in Libya:‘From the evidence that has been collected, it was possible to ascertain that pregnant victims
who arrived in Italy by sea may be re-trafficked. In fact, the madame, having learned of thevictim's pregnancy, may decide to “leave her” in Libya, considering her pregnancy as a great
obstacle to work, and, therefore, the payment of debt. In some cases, girls are sold by theirmadame in Europe to another madame in Libya, who will force girls to interrupt theirpregnancy and work in brothels. In many other cases, however, the girls who wereinterviewed were forced to rely on a different trafficker willing to support them in Libya and,eventually, from Libya to Italy. The victim is then subjected by the new madame to a second
voodoo ritual and sometimes, forced to prostitute herself even during a pregnancy.’244

2.3 The debt system and the use of juju
The incurring and repaying of a debt are a central feature of sex trafficking from Benin City/Edo State
to Europe. Madams or criminal gangs finance the journey of trafficking victims to Europe, but require
victims to repay a highly inflated debt through sex work upon arrival in Europe. These debts are
estimated to be between EUR 30 000 and EUR 70 000.245 The 2015 EASO report indicated that mosttrafficking victims from Edo/Benin City were aware of the fact they would have to repay a debt, butthat they were not aware of or did not understand the actual (highly inflated) amount of the debt.246
Nevertheless, research indicated that many trafficking victims in Europe tried to fully repay theirdebts247, even though very few succeeded.248

240 CLEEN & Pathfinders Justice Initiative, Pathway to Prevention, 2020, url, p. 8. Source: New Yorker (The), The Desperate

Journey of a Trafficked Girl, 3 April 2017, url
241 Pascoal, R., Motherhood in the Context of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation, 2020, url, p. 46
242 Pascoal, R., Motherhood in the Context of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation, 2020, url, p. 46
243 Plambech, S., Senior Research DIIS, interview 1 March 2021; Peano, I. , University of Lisbon, email exchange 27 February
2021
244 IOM, Human Trafficking Through the Central Mediterranean Route: Data, Stories and Information Collected by theInternational Organization for Migration, 2017, url, p. 30
245 TIME, An Ancient Curse Kept Nigerian Women Bound to Sex Slavery. Now, It's Been Reversed, 17 April 2018, url; Human
Rights Watch, “You Pray for Death” Trafficking of Women and Girls in Nigeria, 2019, url, p. 42; Malakooti, A., The Intersectionof Irregular Migration and Trafficking in West Africa and the Sahel , 2020, url, p. 75
246 EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information Report - Nigeria – Sex Trafficking of women, October 2015, url, p. 25
247 Samyn, S., Seksmigratie als deel van de overlevingseconomie in Nigeria [Sex migration as part of the survival economy in
Nigeria], 2018, url, p. 9
248 Plambech, S., Senior Researcher DIIS, interview 1 March 2021; Malakooti, A., The Intersection of Irregular Migration andTrafficking in West Africa and the Sahel , 2020, url, p. 75; Samyn, S., Seksmigratie als deel van de overlevingseconomie in
Nigeria [Sex migration as part of the survival economy in Nigeria], 2018, url, p. 10

33

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

2.3.1 Juju and oath-taking
Until at least 2018, traffickers from Edo used the native justice system which relies on oaths and lucky
charms/fetishes (juju) to seal the debt agreement with trafficking victims before departure. Throughthese oaths traffickers promised victims to arrange their travel to Europe and victims
committedthemselves to paying back the debt and not making any problems, including revealing theidentity of the trafficker(s) to law enforcement authorities.249 Recent research indicated that the
information about the use of oaths in the 2015 EASO report about sex trafficking of Nigerian women
is still mostly accurate.250
The 2015 EASO report described juju as ‘a popular term for various forms of “traditional” medicine
and black magic’.251 and a colloquial term for voodoo, ‘a traditional religion in West Africa’ according
to which ‘spirits or gods are believed to govern the earth and every aspect of human existence.’ Thereport also stipulated that ‘juju is deeply ingrained in society in Edo State, and many Nigerians,
regardless of social class or education level, believe in it.’252
Recent research emphasised that juju has multiple meanings in the Edo context. It refers both to thepractice of using ‘supernatural forces to act on natural forces’, as well as to the actual lucky
charms/fetishes which are used to achieve this goal. ECPAT France indicated that:‘The people interviewed as part of our surveys use the word "juju" to refer not only to theirbeliefs and the rituals they have undergone during their journey, but also to the object thatmaterializes the promise and that is composed of the items used during the oath of allegiance[…] or to the representations of the deities used during the rituals.’253
As such, juju is an essential part of Edo’s customary justice system, in which oaths254, and fetishes areused to seal ‘oaths of allegiance’:255‘According to Precious Diagboya, the oath of allegiance, which can also be described as aloyalty oath, is used in the Benin City area in the context of marital fidelity, good faith incommercial dealings or commitment to a group (a cultist group, for example) or to a deity. As
we have seen, it can be taken by the devotees to a deity at the time of initiation or by the"priests" to the Oba. The existence of an oath of allegiance adds a sacred dimension to thecommitment of allegiance, a dimension that distinguishes it from a simple promise. Thissacred aspect is "most often handled by involving a third party witness: the third actor in thissociodrama that is the oath, a sacred or sanctified actor, a witness and guarantor of theenunciation".’256
The 2015 EASO report about sex trafficking of Nigerian women cited insights from academic researchthat warned against a sensationalist understanding of the role of juju charms and oath taking in sex
trafficking in Nigeria, which considers juju as the driving force behind this phenomenon and depicts
juju rituals themselves as inherently traumatic. Researchers emphasised that while juju is used toensure a victim’s allegiance to the trafficker, juju is not used as a way to force women and girls into

249 ECPAT, Religious, Social and Criminal Groups in Trafficking of Nigerian Girls and Women, 2019, url, p. 66
250 EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information Report - Nigeria – Sex Trafficking of women, October 2015, url, pp. 25-28. Seefor instance: ECPAT, Religious, Social and Criminal Groups in Trafficking of Nigerian Girls and Women, 2019, url, p. 66
251 EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information Report - Nigeria – Sex Trafficking of women, October 2015, url, p. 25. Source:
Plambech, S., Points of departure 2014, p. 161
252 EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information Report - Nigeria – Sex Trafficking of women, October 2015, url, p. 27. It cites:
Ana Dols Garcia, Voodoo, Witchcraft and Human Trafficking in Europe, October 2013, DIS, Protection of victims of traffickingin Nigeria, April 2008, p. 23
253 ECPAT, Religious, Social and Criminal Groups in Trafficking of Nigerian Girls and Women, 2019, url, pp. 64-76
254 IFRA, Oath Taking in Edo: Usages and Misappropriations of the Native Justice System, 2 March 2019, url, p. 2
255 ECPAT, Religious, Social and Criminal Groups in Trafficking of Nigerian Girls and Women, 2019, url, pp. 99-100
256 ECPAT, Religious, Social and Criminal Groups in Trafficking of Nigerian Girls and Women, 2019, url, p. 65

34

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

sex trafficking, and is only applied once she has decided that she wants to go to Europe.257 The EASO
report also indicated that the act of making an oath that involves juju charms is not necessarily
experienced as intimidating and coercive258, as juju and juju oaths are integral to daily life in Edo.259
Researchers also emphasised that juju is just one of the means traffickers have at their disposal toguarantee a victim’s obedience, and that not all victims of sex trafficking in Nigeria have sworn
oaths260, or if they did swear an oath, believe in its ‘magic power’.261
The EASO report also indicated that juju could become a tool of psychological coercion once victims
refuse or fail to live up to the demands of their traffickers.262 According to multiple sources cited in
the report, victims who believed in juju and wanted to escape their traffickers reported high levels offear for the consequences of breaking their oaths.263 Recent research showed that the fetishes (juju)
that are taken when a trafficking victim swears her oath of allegiance play a central role in this. Priests
threatened victims to set on fire their fetishes when victims do not pay back their debts, which victims
believe could result in death of madness.264
However, during this reporting period, the role of juju and oaths in sex trafficking from Nigeria to
Europe has been impacted by the decision by the Oba of Benin to curse the use of juju to seal
allegiances between traffickers and their victims, as will be discussed in the next section.

2.3.2 Oba of Benin and the cursing of sex traffickers
As mentioned in Section 1.2, one of the most remarkable developments during this reporting period
was the decision by the Oba of Benin, the traditional religious ruler who has moral authority over all
juju priests in Edo State, to curse human trafficking, curse all priests who perform oaths between sex
traffickers and their victims, and nullify all previous juju oaths sworn by trafficking victims. Initialreports from Nigeria and Europe showed that this decision had various impacts. Juju priests in Edo
were said to have stopped performing oaths265, and have requested victims and/or their families topick up the bundles with the victims’ intimate items.266 Trafficking victims in Europe havedemonstrated more willingness to leave their madams267, and some victims seemed more willing tocooperate with both European and Nigerian law enforcement authorities to convict their traffickers.268
Reuters interviewed a paid Nigeria-based recruiter of potential victims, who indicated that she had
stopped recruiting women and girls out of fear for the consequences of the curse.269

257 EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information Report - Nigeria – Sex Trafficking of women, October 2015, url, p. 26. It cites:

Cherti, M., et al., Human Trafficking from Nigeria to the UK, January 2013, p. 43
258 EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information Report - Nigeria – Sex Trafficking of women, October 2015, url, pp. 26-27. It
cites: Cherti, M., et al., Human Trafficking from Nigeria to the UK, January 2013, p. 43; Dijk, van, R., ´Voodoo` on the doorstep.
Young Nigerian prostitutes and magic’, 2001, p. 571
259 EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information Report - Nigeria – Sex Trafficking of women, October 2015, url, p. 27. It cites:
DIS, Protection of victims of trafficking in Nigeria, April 2008, p. 23
260 EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information Report - Nigeria – Sex Trafficking of women, October 2015, url, p. 28. It cites:
Cherti, M., et al., Beyond Borders, January 2013, p. 43
261 EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information Report - Nigeria – Sex Trafficking of women, October 2015, url, p. 28. It cites:
Skilbrei, M.-L. & M. Tveit, Facing return, 2007 p. 33
262 EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information Report - Nigeria – Sex Trafficking of women, October 2015, url, p. 27. It cites:
Carling, J., Trafficking in Women from Nigeria to Europe, 1 July 2005
263 ECPAT, Religious, Social and Criminal Groups in Trafficking of Nigerian Girls and Women, 2019, url, pp. 67-68
264 ECPAT, Religious, Social and Criminal Groups in Trafficking of Nigerian Girls and Women, 2019, url, pp. 63, 86-87
265 Reuters, Black magic ban dents sex trafficking in Nigeria, 19 September 2018, url; TIME, An Ancient Curse Kept Nigerian
Women Bound to Sex Slavery. Now, It’s Been Reversed, 17 April 2018, url
266 TIME, An Ancient Curse Kept Nigerian Women Bound to Sex Slavery. Now, It’s Been Reversed, 17 April 2018, url
267 Al Jazeera, A traditional Nigerian leader took on traffickers. Has it helped?, 4 July 2018, url; BBC, The Nigerians standing
up to sex-work traffickers in Sicily, 12 November 2020, url
268 Guardian (The), Escape: the woman who brought her trafficker to justice, 27 August 2020, url
269 Reuters, Black magic ban dents sex trafficking in Nigeria, 19 September 2018, url

35

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

No end to sex trafficking from Edo State
However, these observations are mostly based on anecdotal evidence and concern the situation justafter the Oba made the curse. Experts indicated that sex trafficking from Benin City has not stopped270,
as predicted by experts/stakeholders from Edo State in 2018 already.271 Experts indicated that ‘thecurrent question is likely to be more about what strategies criminal groups will deploy, adapting what
they do to comply with the Oba’s declaration, rather than whether the declaration will put an end totrafficking.’272 Stakeholders identified various potential (unintended) consequences of the oath,
including:-A shift in recruiting areas for sex trafficking victims, as the Oba’s authority is only recognisedby the Bini people from Edo State (see Section 1.3.1);273
A shift towards other coercive tactics to guarantee the allegiance of victims to their traffickers
including the threat and/or use of violence (see Section 4.1 on reprisals);274
The use of ‘clandestine oaths’275, or the use of shrines outside Edo State.276

The director of a Nigerian NGO indicated that the curse by the Oba did nothing to remove the pushfactors that encourage inhabitants of Edo State to leave, meaning that they will still look foropportunities to go abroad, including via the sex trafficking model.277 In this regard, it has beenemphasised that the oath was never the driving force behind a trafficking victim’s choice to travel withthe support of a madam. The oath was used to seal the ‘agreement’ between traffickers and trafficking
victims, once the victim had decided to make the journey to Europe. Sources indicated that there has
been a decrease in departures to Europe from Edo State, but ascribe this to the fact that the journeyhas become more difficult and the huge number of returnees from Libya signifies to would-be
migrants in Edo State278 that this is not the right moment to attempt the journey.279 Experts, however,believed that this has resulted in sex trafficking of women to other destinations, such as the Middle
East.280

Impact on victims in Italy (and the rest of Europe)
Sources confirmed that the decision by the Oba provided trafficking victims from Edo in Italy with anopportunity to escape situations of exploitation/debt bondage. NGOs providing services to Nigerian
victims in Europe, however, indicated that while victims might initially have felt emboldened to leave
their madams, the lack of sufficient support services for these women and girls has resulted in manyof them returning to their madams.281 A migration sociologist also observed this development during
fieldwork with Nigerian trafficking victims in Italy in 2020.282 In addition, sources indicated that
traffickers in Europe have other tools at their disposal to coerce women into obedience. These include

270 Idahosa, R. Evon, Founder/Executive Director Pathfinders Justice Initiative, interview 24 February 2021; Plambech, S.,

Senior Researcher DIIS, interview 1 March 2021
271 TIME, An Ancient Curse Kept Nigerian Women Bound to Sex Slavery. Now, It’s Been Reversed, 17 April 2018, url
272 ECPAT, Religious, Social and Criminal Groups in Trafficking of Nigerian Girls and Women, 2019, url, pp. 99-100
273 Idahosa, R. Evon, Founder/Executive Director Pathfinders Justice Initiative, interview 24 February 2021
274 Mossino, A., Director PIAM ONLUS, interview 5 October 2020; ECPAT, Religious, Social and Criminal Groups in Traffickingof Nigerian Girls and Women, 2019, url, pp. 99-100; Al Jazeera, A traditional Nigerian leader took on traffickers. Has it
helped?, 4 July 2018, url; DW, How the ‘Nigerian mafia’ exploits African women in Europe, 25 December 2019, url
275 ECPAT, Religious, Social and Criminal Groups in Trafficking of Nigerian Girls and Women, 2019, url, pp. 99-100
276 Mossino, A., Director PIAM ONLUS, interview 5 October 2020
277 Idahosa, R. Evon, Founder/Executive Director Pathfinders Justice Initiative, interview 24 February 2021; Plambech, S.,
Senior Research DIIS, interview 1 March 2021
278 Idahosa, R. Evon, Founder/Executive Director Pathfinders Justice Initiative, interview 24 February 2021
279 Maria Shaidrova, PhD Candidate Tilburg University, interview 24 February 2021
280 Plambech, S., Senior Research DIIS, interview 1 March 2021
281 Al Jazeera, A traditional Nigerian leader took on traffickers. Has it helped?, 4 July 2018, url
282 Maria Shaidrova, PhD Candidate Tilburg University, interview 24 February 2021

36

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings(threats of) violence against victims and their families283, and threats to report trafficking victims
without documents to the authorities.284

2.4 Travel to and within Europe
This section deals with the routes taken by Nigerian migrants trafficking victims on the way to Europe,
activities of traffickers and intermediaries alongside these routes, and the abuse inflicted along theway. Sources noted that the actors who are in charge of human trafficking have been shifting between
various EU countries285, resulting in significant changes in the number of Nigerian victims of humantrafficking that have been detected in individual EU Member States.286

2.4.1 Routes to Europe
The 2015 EASO report indicated that most Nigerian trafficking victims used the central Mediterraneanroute through Niger and Libya to travel to Italy. In 2020, this was still the case. Nigerians using thisroute continued to predominantly favour Italy as primary destination country, followed by Greece.287
Data from interviews with Nigerian migrants in Italy by the Mixed Migration Centre indicated thatmost Nigerian migrants (including victims of trafficking) followed a similar journey. Migrants fromother places in Nigeria travelled to Kano in northern Nigeria first, to subsequently cross the borderwith Niger. Most migrants then directly travelled to the Nigerien city Agadez, but some indicated they
made a stop before in the Nigerien town Zinder. From Agadez they continued to the southern Libyan
desert town Sabha to subsequently travel to Tripoli or in some cases Sabratha, both on the north coastof Libya288, where they hoped to embark on a boat journey to Italy across the Mediterranean Sea. The
2015 report mentioned the use of the western Mediterranean route to Spain.289 IOM data showedthat Nigerians do not figure amongst the most common nationalities of arrivals in Spain.290
First-time asylum applications in Spain between 2015 and 2020 reflect this observation (see tablebelow).291 While first-time asylum applications by Nigerians dropped significantly in Italy since 2018,
there was no stark increase in first-time applications in Spain.292

283 Samyn, S., Seksmigratie als deel van de overlevingseconomie in Nigeria [Sex migration as part of the survival economy in

Nigeria], 2018, url, p. 8; Guardian (The), Escape: the woman who brought her trafficker to justice, 27 August 2020, url
284 Plambech, S., Senior Researcher DIIS, interview 1 March 2021; Guardian (The), ‘Migrants are more profitable than drugs’:
how the mafia infiltrated Italy’s asylum system, 1 February 2018, url
285 Guardian (The), Escape: the woman who brought her trafficker to justice, 27 August 2020, url; VPRO, Zwangere Afrikaanse
asielzoeksters verdwijnen uit opvang [Pregnant African asylum seekers disappeared from asylum centres], 19 February 2020,
url
286 Infomigrants, Germany 'the brothel of Europe' for trafficked Nigerian women, 9 December 2019, url; Interview Heeringa,
A., Team Leader Perspectives on Rights, Salvation Army, 19 November 2020; Argos, Honderden Nigerianen verdwenen uit
asielopvang [Hundreds of Nigerians disappeared from asylum centres], 5 June 2020, url; Frontex confirms the prevalence of
secondary movements within Europe by West-African migrants: Frontex, Risk analysis 2018, url, p. 28
287 IOM, Iregular migration routes to Europe: West and Central Africa, January-June 2020, url
288 Mixed Migration Centre, Protection risks along migration routes through North Africa to Italy, September 2020, url, p. 1
289 EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information Report - Nigeria – Sex Trafficking of women, October 2015, url, p. 33
290 IOM, Mixed Migration Flows in the Mediterranean: Compilation of Available Data and Information, November 2019, url,
p. 4. In 2019, the main nationalities among arrivals by sea in Spain between January and November 2019 were Morocco(30%), Algeria (15%), Mali (9%) and others (46%)In 2019 and 2020, Nigerians also did not feature amongst the main
nationalities of arrivals in Italy. IOM, Flow Monitoring Surveys – Italy, February 2021, url; IOM, Top 5 Nationalities
Interviewed in Italy in 2019, July 2020, url, p. 4
291 Eurostat, Asylum and first time asylum applicants by citizenship, age and sex - annual aggregated data (rounded), last
updated 18 March 2021, last accessed 28 March 2021, url
292 Dutch research indicated that the most common West African nationalities that entered Spain between 2014 and 2018
showed a significant overlap with the nationalities that were previously detected in the Central Mediterranean, with the
exception of Nigerians. Netherlands, ACVZ, Research report: Secondary Movements of Asylum Seekers in the EU, 12
November 2019, url, p. 41

37

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Italy

17 75526 55024 950

5510

1255

855

Spain

200

275

250

375

280

200

Malta

5

15

35

35

220

215

Greece

190

190

130

130

170

100

Table 1: First -time Nigerian applications in selected Mediterranean EU countries between 2015 and 2020293

Nevertheless, various sources indicated that Nigerian trafficking victims have used the western
Mediterranean route to enter Europe.294
A European NGO indicated that a small fraction of Nigerian sex trafficking victims still arrived via planein Europe.295 The main airports of embarkation indicated by Frontex (2018) - in its database of irregular
entries at EU air borders - also included Lagos (in the top six).296

2.4.2 Abuse on the way to Europe
In theory the organised journey model shields trafficking victims from violence and exploitation along
the way, as they do not have to search and pay for their own transit to the next destination, reducing
the time spent in transit .297 However, as the 2015 EASO report already mentioned, trafficked Nigerian
women experienced significant levels of sexual abuse and exploitation in so-called connection houses
or ghettos in Niger and Libya where they resided before embarking on the next part of the journey.298
Along the central Mediterranean route, Nigerian migrants had to pay bribes to corrupt border officials
to guarantee passing into the next country:‘Widespread/endemic corruption was noted in law enforcement, particularly as returnees left
Edo State and on the border between Nigeria and Niger. Returnees noted that law
enforcement officers are aware of the smuggling happening on the borders and either turn ablind eye or demand bribes for returnees to continue.’299
The lawlessness and volatile security situation in Libya since 2011 ‘provides fertile ground for thriving
illicit activities, such as trafficking in human beings and criminal smuggling, and leaves migrant andrefugee men, women and children at the mercy of countless predators who view them as commodities
to be exploited and extorted for maximum financial gain’, according to the Office of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).300 During this reporting period, Nigerian migrants
identified Libya, and particularly Sabha and Tripoli, as the most dangerous places during thejourney.301 The fact that since 2018 it has become more difficult to leave Libya, has increased the riskof being submitted to exploitation and abuse for migrants. The types of abuse reported by both maleand female migrants were manifold and included physical violence, torture, rape/sexual violence302,
293 Eurostat, Asylum and first time asylum applicants by citizenship, age and sex - annual aggregated data (rounded) [choose

first-time applicant], 18 March 2021, url
294 Jorge, E., I. Antolínez and A. Alonso, The Construction of Silence: Narratives of Nigerian Women Crossing into Europe,
UNESCO Chair on Gender, Wellbeing and a Culture of Peace Working Paper Series, March 2020, url; Plambech, S., SeniorResearcher DIIS, interview 1 March 2021; CLEEN & Pathfinders Justice Initiative, Pathway to Prevention, 2020, url, pp. 20-21
295 The arrival dates of these victims, however, were not specified. See: Herzwerk, Best practices in tackling trafficking
Nigerian Route (BINIs): National Report Austria, 2018, url, p. 11
296 Semprebon, M. Fighting Human Trafficking in Nigeria: Recent and ongoing projects (2010-2019), 2020, url, p. 26
297 UNHCR, Mixed Migration Routes and Dynamics in Libya in 2018, 2019, url, p. 23
298 EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information Report - Nigeria – Sex Trafficking of women, October 2015, url, p. 33
299 INSigHT, Building Capacity to Deal with Human Trafficking and Transit Routes in Nigeria, Italy, June 10-11, 2019, url, p. ix
300 OHCHR, Desperate and Dangerous, December 2018, url, pp. 5, 20. See also: Malakooti, A., The Intersection of Irregular
Migration and Trafficking in West Africa and the Sahel , 2020, url, p. 77
301 Mixed Migration Center, Protection risks along migration routes through North Africa to Italy, September 2020, url, p. 3
302 OHCHR, Desperate and Dangerous, December 2018, url, pp. 46-47

38

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

forced detention303, kidnapping for ransom304, killings305, and various forms of exploitation.306 In Libya,
traffickers regularly kidnap migrants to force families back home to pay ransom.307 The OHCHR foundthat migrants in Libya:‘are systematically held captive in abusive conditions, including starvation, severe beatings,
burning with hot metals, electrocution, and sexual abuses of women and girls, with the aimof extorting money from their families through a complex system of money transfers,
extending to a number of countries. They are frequently sold from one criminal gang toanother and required to pay ransoms multiple times before being set free or taken to coastal
areas to await the Mediterranean Sea crossing.’308
There have also been reports of cases where smugglers captured (male) Nigerian migrants in Libya
and forced family members of those migrants to pay for their release after the smugglers had decided
that the initial amount that was paid for the journey to Libya was too low.309 Migrants have been
auctioned at ‘slave markets’.310 Women and girls often fell prey to sexual exploitation311, whereas men
mostly ended up in forced labour.312 Women were particularly vulnerable to sexual exploitation in
Libya by smugglers, including Nigerians.313 There have been reports of pregnancies as a result of rape
and abortions in unsanitary conditions.314
Research with Nigerian migrants who used the western Mediterranean route indicated that traffickers
also use violence along the way to intimidate women into obedience. According to Spanish research,‘Maghnia (Algerian border with Morocco) stands out notoriously as a place where women often
recount the assaults that they experience, in this case, from their fellow countrymen.’315
Besides the fact that West African migrants are vulnerable to abuse by others during their journey,both routes in themselves are very dangerous as well. Significant numbers of African migrants died of
dehydration or asphyxiation during the journey through the Sahara Desert or drowned during thecrossing of the Mediterranean.316

2.4.3 Secondary movements in Europe
As mentioned, most Nigerian irregular migrants have travelled via the central Mediterranean route toEurope during the last couple of years, with Italy being the favoured primary destination country.

303 Mixed Migration Centre, Protection concerns of people on the move across West Africa and Libya, May 2018, url, pp. 12,

15; OHCHR, Desperate and Dangerous, December 2018, url, p. 38
304 OHCHR, Desperate and Dangerous, December 2018, url, p. 48
305 OHCHR, Desperate and Dangerous, December 2018, url, pp. 29-30
306 TIME, 'It Was As if We Weren’t Human.' Inside the Modern Slave Trade Trapping African Migrants, 14 March 2019, url;
Mixed Migration Centre, Protection concerns of people on the move across West Africa and Libya, May 2018, url OHCHR,
Desperate and Dangerous, December 2018, url, p. 47
307 TIME, The Families of Migrants Held Hostage Are Using Facebook to Raise Money for Smugglers’ Ransoms, 5 February
2019, url; BBC, 'I thought I was going to die': Jailed and ransomed in Libya, 21 June 2017, url
308 OHCHR, Desperate and Dangerous, 20 December 2018, url, p. 5
309 Ansa (via Infomigrants), 'African mafias work together in Italy,' national prosecutor says, 29 November 2019, url; Inkyfada,
Investigation: At the Heart of Human Trafficking Networks in Libya, 1 December 2020, url (This publication concerns thesituation of migrants in Libya in general and not specifically Nigerian migrants)
310 TIME, 'It Was As if We Weren’t Human.' Inside the Modern Slave Trade Trapping African Migrants, 14 March 2019, url
311 4Mi, cited in: Clingendael, Caught in the middle A human rights and peace-building approach to migration governance in
the Sahel, December 2018, url, pp. 29-30; TIME, 'It Was As if We Weren’t Human.' Inside the Modern Slave Trade Trapping
African Migrants, 14 March 2019, url
312 TIME, 'It Was As if We Weren’t Human.' Inside the Modern Slave Trade Trapping African Migrants, 14 March 2019, url
313 France 24, Nigerian women struggle to raise children born of Libya rape, 1 August 2019, url
314 Human Rights Watch, “You Pray for Death” Trafficking of Women and Girls in Nigeria, 2019, url, p. 5
315 Jorge, E., I. Antolínez and A. Alonso, The Construction of Silence: Narratives of Nigerian Women Crossing into Europe,
UNESCO Chair on Gender, Wellbeing and a Culture of Peace Working Paper Series, March 2020, url, p. 17
316 IOM, Irregular Migration Routes West and Central Africa, January-June 2020, url, p. 2

39

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

However, data about (first-time) asylum applications by Nigerians in EU+ countries indicated that
Nigerians have (temporarily) dispersed over various EU Member States, particularly in the wake of
2018. Indeed, as fewer Nigerian migrants have arrived to Europe since 2018, movements of victims
who arrived prior to that year from Italy to other EU countries have become more important. Since
2018, Germany has topped the list of EU countries receiving most Nigerian asylum applications,surpassing Italy. Many Nigerians have also withdrawn their asylum applications, mainly in Italy.317 The
2015 EASO report on sex trafficking indeed identified the ‘continuous shifting of exploited victims
within the EU’ based on data from Europol, specifying that ‘destination countries can become transit
countries.’318
As the number of new Nigerian trafficking victims arriving to Europe has decreased, movement of
Nigerian trafficking victims within Europe has continued. There are no data available about secondary
movements of Nigerians who have entered Europe through the Central Mediterranean route.
However, data about the annual number of Nigerian asylum applicants in individual European
countries provide some insight in the extent to and where Nigerians are moving after arrival in Italy.
Data about Nigerian asylum applications in Europe indicate that – besides Italy, Greece and Spain the most important asylum destinations for Nigerian migrants in Europe between 2015 and 2019 wereGermany, France, Austria, the UK, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, and Ireland.319
2015
2016
2017
2018
Italy
18,145
27,10525,495
6,975
Germany
5,300
12,9108,260
11,010France
1,710
1,955
2,350
5,050
United Kingdom
1,615
1,905
1,680
1,440
Austria
1,375
1,855
1,405
680
Switzerland
970
1,105
700
510
Sweden
460
365
395
400
Spain
215
285
260
400
Netherlands
265
280
270
320
Greece
370
275
200
185
Ireland
185
175
185
250
Finland
165
165
105
105
Belgium
145
115
145
120
Denmark
115
115
65
30
Hungary
1,005
85
10
0
Table 2: Top 15 first asylum applications of Nigerians between 2015 and 2020320

2019
3,520
10,510
6,390
1,485
335
355
395
380
650
210
385
120
195
20
5

2020
3,150
4,215
3,785
:
185
170
255
275
2,200
135
210
75
140
15
0

Shifting secondary destinations
While in some countries such as the UK, Ireland, and Sweden the number of Nigerian asylum
applications remained quite constant between 2016 and 2019, the table above shows that theNetherlands and France reported a significant increase in the number of Nigerian applicants since
2018/2019. Recent research in both countries showed high levels of Nigerian trafficking victims321,
and research in the Netherlands showed that the increased number of Nigerian asylum applications

317 EASO, EASO Asylum Report 2020: Annual Report on the Situation of Asylum in the European Union, 2020, url, p. 78
318 EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information Report - Nigeria – Sex Trafficking of women, October 2015, url, p. 34. Source:

Europol, Joint actions to tackle West African Human Trafficking Networks, 12 June 2014
319 Eurostat, Asylum and first time asylum applicants by citizenship, age and sex - annual aggregated data (rounded), 18
March 2021, url
320 Eurostat, Asylum and first time asylum applicants by citizenship, age and sex - annual aggregated data (rounded), last
updated 18 March 2021, url
321 Sourd A., and A. Vacher, La traite des êtres humains en France Profil des victimes suivies par les associations en 2019,2020, url, p. 4; Netherlands, Nationaal Rapporteur Mensenhandel, Slachtoffermonitor Mensenhandel 2015-2019 [Victim
Monitor Human Trafficking 2015-2019], 2020, url, pp. 42-43

40

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

corresponded with an increased number of identified Nigerian trafficking victims.322 On the other
hand, countries such as Austria and Switzerland and also Norway and Denmark witnessed significant
decreases in Nigerian asylum applicants.323 Dutch research (2019) indicated that secondary
movements mostly took place between Italy and Germany between 2014 and 2018. According to thisresearch, France received many asylum seekers who had previously applied for asylum in Germany,
Italy and Hungary, but it was not specified how many Nigerians were amongst them.324

Nigerian trafficking networks escaping European law enforcement
Little recent (academic) research exists on what motivates secondary movements by Nigeriantrafficking victims and/or why the presence of Nigerian victims of trafficking/asylum seekers has
significantly increased in some European countries and decreased in others. However, trafficking
networks determine where trafficking victims reside and recent insights from Europol (2018)suggested that these networks know how to use local asylum procedures to their advantage and how
to adapt to increased scrutiny by law enforcement officials in certain countries:‘The long-established presence of Nigerian OCGs [organised crime groups] in the EU has given
them an insight into law enforcement methods and a good understanding of how to misuse
legal immigration channels (in particular the asylum mechanism, which they abuse both totraffic their victims and to legalise their status). This is shown by the many THB suspects whoeither hold legal residence permits, are currently asylum applicants, or former asylum seekers[…] The large number of human resources and the structure in cells makes the organised crime
network rather fluid. Once one cell is dismantled by law enforcement, the rest can continue
to operate and can easily re-establish any losses.’325
An representative of a shelter for Nigerian trafficking victims in Italy confirmed this vision, adding that
the Italian prostitution market has been saturated, making it more beneficial for traffickers to explore
other European markets.326 Save the Children indicated that the high territorial turnover of Nigeriantrafficking victims was ‘implemented mainly to avoid police inspections or the creation of close
relationships with clients or social workers’.327

Better earnings and conditions
Plambech indicated that Nigerian sex trafficking victims travel to other destinations within Italy andEurope to accelerate the repayment of their debts.328 In northern Europe, Nigerian trafficking victims
earn more than in Italy. In addition, also within Italy, Nigerian sex trafficking victims organise shorttrips to different parts of the country – with a less saturated prostitution market - to enhance theirearnings.329 Sine Plambech indicated that madams usually do not force Nigerian trafficking victims to
go to different destinations and that women/girls often want to go themselves.330 The search of bothtraffickers and trafficking victims for better social security/protection via the asylum procedure also

322 Netherlands,

Nationaal Rapporteur Mensenhandel, Slachtoffermonitor Mensenhandel 2015-2019 [[Victim Monitor
Human Trafficking 2015-2019], 2020, url, pp. 42-43
323 Eurostat, Asylum and first time asylum applicants by citizenship, age and sex - annual aggregated data (rounded), Last
updated 18 March 2021, url
324 Netherlands, ACVZ, Research report: Secondary Movements of Asylum Seekers in the EU, 12 November 2019, url, p. 41
325 Europol, Situation Report: Criminal Networks Involved in the Trafficking and Exploitation of Underage Victims in theEuropean Union, October 2018, url, pp. 12-13
326 Mossino, A., Director PIAM ONLUS, interview 5 October 2020
327 Save the Children, Young Invisible Enslaved: Children Victims of Trafficking and Labour Exploitation in Italy, July 2017, url,
p. 27
328 Plambech, S., Senior Researcher DIIS, interview 1 March 2021
329 Maria Shaidrova, PhD Candidate Tilburg University, interview 24 February 2021
330 Plambech, S., Senior Researcher DIIS, interview 1 March 2021

41

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

inspires secondary movements.331 In some cases trafficking victims move to different countries,
because once they are in the asylum procedure they will receive a higher allowance than in the
primary destination countries. This is beneficial for traffickers as well, who force them to give all or apart of the allowance to them.332

331 Idahosa, R. Evon, Founder/Executive Director Pathfinders Justice Initiative, interview 24 February 2021, Maria Shaidrova,

PhD Candidate Tilburg University, interview 24 February 2021
332 Idahosa, R. Evon, Founder/Executive Director Pathfinders Justice Initiative, interview 24 February 2021

42

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

3. Reintegration of returnees
This chapter discusses the situation of Nigerian trafficking victims and migrants (women and men)
upon return in Nigeria. It looks into (the effectiveness of) available reintegration support andcommunity attitudes towards returnees.

3.1 Repatriation (voluntary and forced return)
On an annual basis, many migrants return to Nigeria. European governments have established a rangeof programmes to support Nigerian returnees with their returns and reintegration in Nigeria. The
departure country and the question whether the migrant does or does not cooperate with his/her
return determine for what type of support programme he/she can apply. Prospective Nigerian
returnees based in Europe can use programmes by EU Member State immigration agencies, IOM
programmes or support provided through the European Return and Reintegration Network (ERRIN) in
the framework of their joint reintegration programmes.333 Support by national immigration agencies
and IOM support is predominantly reserved for voluntary returnees, whereas ERRIN support isprovided to both voluntary and forced returnees according to policies in place in the respective
sending countries.334

3.1.1 Number of Nigerian returnees
No information was found in regard to the percentage of returnees from Europe who are recognised
to be victims of human trafficking. According to data provided by European countries to Eurostat, theauthorities of these countries organised the return of 1 965 Nigerians in 2017, 1 300 in 2018 and 1 650
in 2019.335 These numbers, however, are not based on insights about return from all EU Member
States. Frontex indicated that in 2019 2 287 Nigerians effectively returned.336
Most of the Nigerian returnees from Europe reported by Eurostat between 2017 and 2019 wereforced returnees, as displayed in the table below:337
Total number ofreturnees338

Number of forced
returnees339

Percentage forced
returnees

2017

1965

1130

57.5 %

2018

1300

75534058.1 %

333 For more details, see: ERRIN, What we do: Joint reintegration programmes, n.d., url
334 ERRIN, What we do: Joint reintegration programmes, n.d., url. Returnees do have to live up to certain requirements inorder to be eligible for support.
335 Eurostat, Third-country nationals who have left the territory to a third country by destination country and citizenship, last
updated 8 February 2021, url. This table covers returns from: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, France, Hungary,
Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden and the United
Kingdom.
336 Frontex, Risk Analysis for 2020, 2020, url, p. 33. Effective returns, however, do not necessarily mean returns to the countryof origin and, for example in the case of Syrians, they include returns of persons to third countries considered to be safe (forexample from Hungary to Serbia).
337 Eurostat, Third-country nationals who have left the territory by type of return and citizenship, 8 February 2021, url
338 Eurostat, Third-country nationals who have left the territory by type of return and citizenship, 8 February 2021, url
339 Eurostat, Third-country nationals who have left the territory by type of return and citizenship, 8 February 2021, url
340 Norway, Belgium and Iceland did not report the number of forced returnees this year, which means that the total was
likely higher than 755.

43

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

2019

1650

110534167.0 %

Table 3: Number of Nigerian returnees from Europe342

The largest group of organised returnees to Nigeria between 2017 and 2020, however, did not leavefrom the EU, but from Libya – and to a lesser extent Niger - in the framework of IOM’s humanitarianevacuation programme. Between May 2017 and December 2020, more than 17 000 Nigerians
returned in the context of this programme.343 All aforementioned figures include both victims of
trafficking and other categories of migrants.
Since most information about the situation of migrants after return to Nigeria concerns theexperiences of returnees from Libya/Niger, they will be discussed in this chapter as well. Where
possible and necessary the following sections distinguish between the experiences of voluntary andforced returnees and indicate whether it concerns experiences of returnees from Europe or Libya/
Niger.

3.1.2 Overview of return programmes
Support in case of voluntary return from Europe
European countries use various programmes to support the repatriation and reintegration ofvoluntary returnees to Nigeria, notably programmes by local IOM offices, the ERRIN programme344,
and programmes via national immigration agencies.345 Voluntary returnees can apply for these
support programmes in the European country of departure. These programmes generally cover theactual repatriation including the acquisition of the required travel documents. Together with acounsellor/advisor, returnees will develop a reintegration strategy for the moment they are back in
Nigeria.346 These strategies cover economic reintegration/schooling, but also psychosocial support,
legal support (long-term) housing and medical support if necessary. Additional support is available forvulnerable groups such as victims of trafficking and (unaccompanied) minors. IOM and ERRIN provide
returnees predominantly with in kind support including training/schooling, equipment/materials tostart a business and housing through local IOM offices or government/NGO partners within theboundaries of the available grant amount.347 In some cases, voluntary returnees receive limited
amounts of cash financial support for basic needs. Besides the provision of (long-term) reintegration

341 Various countries including Norway and Sweden did not report the number of forced returnees this year, which meansthat the total was likely higher than 1105.
342 Eurostat, Third-country nationals who have left the territory by type of return and citizenship, last updated 8 February
2021, url
343 See: EU-IOM Joint Initiative, Geographic Coverage (Nigeria), n.d., url. For more information about the implementation of
the programme, see: EU-IOM, Biannual Reintegration Report #3, July 2020, url
344 In February 2021 the ERRIN website indicated that Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden
and UK used the ERRIN contracts in Nigeria. See: ERRIN, Where we work (open Nigeria), n.d., url
345 France, for instance, organises voluntary return via the Office Français de l'Immigration et de l'Intégration (OFII France),
See: OFII, Retour Volontaire, n.d., url. The German Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge (BAMF) cooperates with IOM
to provide this type of support via the REAG/GARP programme. See: BAMF & IOM REAG/GARP, n.d., url. In Norway the
Norwegian Directorate for Immigration (UDI) also coordinates with IOM: IOM, Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration,n.d., url
346 ERRIN, About ERRIN, n.d., url; For details about for instance the return support provided by IOM in varius Member States,
see: url (the Netherlands), url (Finland), url (Sweden), url (Iceland), url (Austria), url (Italy), and url (Poland)
347 For information about the nature of IOM support in Nigeria, see: EU-IOM, Biannual Reintegration Report #1, March 2019,url, p. 26-28. The IOM office in Nigeria has trained various NGOs and government entities to provide reintegration services,in the framework of the EU-IOM Joint Initiative, including: National Directorate of Employment, Small and Medium
Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, Industrial Training Fund, Edo State Task Force, Committee for Support of Dignityof Women and Lift Above Poverty Organization (p. 39). For information about the nature of ERRIN support in Nigeria, see:
ERRIN, ERRIN Reintegration Programme for Returning Migrants: Nigeria, n.d., url, p. 2. ERRIN cooperates with the Nigerian
NGO Idia Renaissance to provide reintegration support.

44

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

support ERRIN and IOM arrange the airport pick up and accommodation in Nigeria during the firstdays after arrival (see section 3.1.3).348

Support in case of forced return from Europe
The extent to which forced returnees can apply for reintegration support after arrival in Nigeria
depends on the country from which they have returned. Forced returnees from EU countries who use
ERRIN contracts in Nigeria, can take part in the ERRIN programme according to policies in place in therespective Member States.349

Support in case of humanitarian evacuation from Libya/Niger
The EU-IOM Joint Initiative for humanitarian evacuation from various African countries including Libya
and Niger consists of five phases, of which the first phases consist of support in the departure country,
the actual repatriation, and reception of returnees at the airport. The final phase consists ofreintegration support once back home.350 The exact nature of reintegration support depends on the
profile of the returnee. All returnees are eligible for information and counselling by an advisor who
creates a reintegration plan together with the returnee.351 Based on this advice IOM redirects
returnees to existing trainings and services provided by government entities or NGOs.352 These
initiatives have the aim to prepare returnees for participation in the labour market or the creation of
their own micro business.353 A (large) share of the returnees are eligible for additional reintegration
support, notably seed money to create a business, or integration in a community development projectin communities that absorb many returnees.354 Vulnerable returnees are priority recipients of thistype of support355, as are returnees from communities with a high level of returnees. Other returnees
can, however, also apply for additional support, if they propose an eligible reintegration project.356 A
committee will select returnees who will get additional support based on criteria such as sustainability
and the likely results of the project.357

Procedure for returnee trafficking victims
All above-mentioned programmes foresee in specific support for vulnerable returnees including
victims of trafficking. In Nigeria, NAPTIP coordinates the provision of shelter for and reintegration of
trafficking victims. The 2015 EASO report on sex trafficking indicated that victims of human trafficking
who were deported from Europe often did not receive adequate support at the airport due to a lackof coordination between European authorities and NAPTIP.358 During the last couple of years, most

348 ERRIN, ERRIN Reintegration Programme for Returning Migrants: Nigeria, n.d., last accessed 22 March 2021, url, p. 2
349 ERRIN, What we do: Joint reintegration programmes, n.d., url. Returnees do have to live up to certain requirements inorder to be eligible for support.
350 EU-IOM, Biannual Reintegration Report #1, March 2019, url, p. 15
351 EU-IOM, Biannual Reintegration Report #1, March 2019, url, p. 26
352 EU-IOM, Biannual Reintegration Report #1, March 2019, url, pp. 26-27
353 EU-IOM, Biannual Reintegration Report #1, March 2019, url, p. 27. The document specifies that training: ‘consists ofassistance targeting a large number of returnees with common activities that can contribute to address their needs or
improve their reintegration’s perspectives, such as (i) business management or technical skills training sessions, (ii)psychosocial counselling for both migrants and their families or relatives, and (iii) exposure to job fair and other similar
events where return migrants could network with potential employers, get information on micro-finance institutions, etc.’
For an illustration of this type of initiative, see: IOM, Nigerian Returnees Learn the Ropes of Business Development at Home,
31 August 2018, url
354EU-IOM, Biannual Reintegration Report #1, March 2019, url, p. 28. For an example of a community initiative, see: IOM,
Farmers, Private Sector and Returnees Join Forces to Launch Pineapple Factory, Foster Reintegration in Nigeria, 21 February
2020, url
355 EU-IOM, Biannual Reintegration Report #1, March 2019, url, p. 28
356 EU-IOM, Biannual Reintegration Report #1, March 2019, url, p. 28
357 EU-IOM, Biannual Reintegration Report #1, March 2019, url, p. 28
358 EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information Report - Nigeria – Sex Trafficking of women, October 2015, url, p. 37

45

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

victims of trafficking who returned to Nigeria came from Libya in the framework of the EU-IOM
programme. In case of return from Europe, it is most likely that victims of trafficking were amongst
forced returnees. Research by an international organisation in Nigeria indicated that both under the
EU ERRIN programme and the EU-IOM programme screening committees involving multiple
government agencies have received returnees at airports and identified their status and assistanceneeds.359 Those who got identified as trafficking victims, were transferred to NAPTIP.360 This research
indicated that cooperation between Europe-based and Nigerian NGOs working on sexual exploitation
also sometimes resulted in the identification of trafficking victims after return from Europe.
Section 3.4 describes the specific support provided to trafficking victims by NAPTIP in cooperation
with other actors.

3.1.3 Reception and short-term assistance to returnees
Most voluntary return programmes provide support to returnees upon arrival in Nigeria consisting of
the reception of returnees and accommodation during the first day(s) after arrival. Most information
about the experiences of migrants upon arrival at Nigerian airports concerns return flights from Libya.
These returnees arrive in big groups of hundreds of migrants. Various sources who witnessed thearrival of this type of return flights, did not register abuse of voluntary returnees from Libya by theauthorities.361 One source captured ‘patronizing remarks’ by customs agents against women
perceived to have worked in prostitution.362
IOM cooperates with various Nigerian government agencies to conduct vulnerability scans withreturnees in the countries in which they are stranded, as well as at their point of entry into Nigeria.
This helps to identify vulnerable returnees such as survivors of trafficking, torture, and slavery. The
Nigerian Port Health collaborates with IOM medics to attend to the emergency needs of survivors via
the screening of returnees, the provision of immediate medical assistance and psychosocial aid, andthe delivery of a brief orientation session on available assistance options. The IOM’s protection teamalso cooperates with NAPTIP’s rehabilitation and counselling team in the management of identified
trafficking survivors.363 Human Rights Watch expressed concerns about the efficacy of vulnerabilityscans/victim identification efforts at the airport.364 A witness of a return flight from Libya observed agenerally well-organised process, but also indicated that some (traumatised) migrants refused toparticipate in registration procedures, and that groups of returnees started protesting in theregistration area, demanding empowerment and jobs.365
Whether there is support for forced returnees from Europe upon arrival at the airport depends on thearrangements made by Frontex or the countries organising repatriation. Sources only described the359 International Organisation A, confidential report December 2020, p. 66
360 International Organisation A, confidential report December 2020, p. 66
361 Representative of international organisation C, interview 12 November 2020; Foreign journalist, email exchange 4

November 2020; New Humanitarian (The), Nigerians returned from Europe face stigma and growing hardship, 28 July 2020,
url; DW, Nigerian returnees face poverty and destitution back home, 2 February 2018; De Correspondent, Dit isgrensbewaking anno 2018: creëer onderweg een hel, zodat migranten massaal terug naar huis willen [This is border control
in 2018: create hell on the way, so that migrants want to return home en masse], 21 August 2018, url
362 Alpes, J., Senior researcher Human Rights Centre at Ghent University, interview 7 December 2020
363 Nigeria based representative of international organisation C, interview 12 November 2020; Foreign journalist, email
exchange 4 November 2020; New Humanitarian (The), Nigerians returned from Europe face stigma and growing hardship,
28 July 2020, url; DW, Nigerian returnees face poverty and destitution back home, 2 February 2018, url
364 Human Rights Watch, “You Pray for Death” Trafficking of Women and Girls in Nigeria, 2019, url, pp. 67-68
365 De Correspondent, Dit is grensbewaking anno 2018: creëer onderweg een hel, zodat migranten massaal terug naar huiswillen [This is border control in 2018: create hell on the way, so that migrants want to return home en masse], 21 August
2018, url

46

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

arrival of forced returnees for whom there was no support by third parties.366 Most of these sources
did not report abuse by airport officials of returnees367, contrary to the 2015 EASO report on sex
trafficking, which cited various sources describing the arrest of deported trafficking victims and cases
in which trafficking victims were forced to pay bribes to airport officials to get released.368 A more
recent publication did allude to such experiences, but was based on fieldwork with Nigerian victims
before 2015.369 One source reported to be aware of (more recent) cases where Nigerian airport
officials had confiscated ID documents of forced returnees.370 Another source reported to be awareof a case where airport officials had threatened to put a forced returnee in prison if he would not pay
them a bribe.371
Sources indicated that the key issue forced returnees faced was the lack of accommodation upon
arrival in Nigeria.372 This is problematic, as the airports where returnees arrive can be hundreds ofkilometres away from their regions of origin. This is particularly problematic when planes arrive late
at night, as is often the case.373 A source indicated that forced returnees who had no place to go upon
arrival were sometimes supported by churches.374 The return of forced returnees was sometimes
perceived by witnesses as hectic.375

3.2 Community attitudes towards returnees, including sex trafficking
victims
As discussed in the 2015 EASO report on sex trafficking, victims of trafficking feared stigmatisation by
their families and communities upon return because ‘there are both negative attitudes and highexpectations towards victims of trafficking who have returned or been forced to return from Europe.’
In particular, the report emphasised that attitudes towards trafficking victims who have engaged in
prostitution depend on the extent to which they have managed to make and send remittances backhome. In case women succeed in making money, ‘people are not interested in the origin of theearnings.’376

366 New Humanitarian (The), Nigerians returned from Europe face stigma and growing hardship, 28 July 2020, url; Alpes M.J.

and I. Majcher, Who Can Be Sustainably Reintegrated After Return? Using post-return monitoring for rights-based return
policies, 2020, p. 8. url
367 Trouw, Verlost uit de Libische horror, terug in Nigeria. En dan? [Released from Libyan horror, back in Nigeria. And then?],
31 May 2018, url; De Correspondent, Dit is grensbewaking anno 2018: creëer onderweg een hel, zodat migranten massaal
terug naar huis willen [This is border control in 2018: create hell on the way, so that migrants want to return home en masse],
21 August 2018, url; EuroNews, Abused in Libya and forced into prostitution back home: the nightmare of trying to reach
Europe, 21 June 2020, url
368 EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information Report - Nigeria – Sex Trafficking of women, October 2015, url, p. 37. Source:
Women’s Link Worldwide, Trafficking of Nigerian Women and Girls, 2015, p. 60-61; Skilbrei, M.-L. & M. Tveit, Facing return,2007, pp. 53-54; Women’s Link Worldwide, Trafficking of Nigerian Women and Girls, 2015, p. 60; Cherti, M. et al., Beyond
Borders, January 2013, pp. 9, 73
369 Esposito, F. and others, Voices from the Inside: Lived Experiences of Women Confined in a Detention Center, Signs, 2019,url, p. 424
370 Representative of international organisation C, interview 12 November 2020
371 Alpes, J., Senior Researcher Human Rights Centre at Ghent University, interview 7 December 2020
372 Alpes, J., Senior Researcher Human Rights Centre at Ghent University, interview 7 December 2020; New Humanitarian(The), Nigerians returned from Europe face stigma and growing hardship, 28 July 2020, url
373 Alpes, J., Senior Researcher Human Rights Centre at Ghent University, interview 7 December 2020
374 Alpes, M.J. and I. Majcher, Who Can Be Sustainably Reintegrated After Return? Using post-return monitoring for rightsbased return policies, 2020, url, p. 8
375 Representative of international organisation C, interview 12 November 2020
376 EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information Report - Nigeria – Sex Trafficking of women, October 2015, url, p. 38. Source:
Science Nordic, Victims of sex trafficking return home to great expectations, 13 September 2012; Pascoal, R., The situationof the Nigerian human trafficking victims and their children in Italy, 19 December 2012, p. 35. (319) Osezua, C., ‘Changing
Status of Women and the Phenomenon Trafficking of Women for Transactional Sex in Nigeria’, 2013, pp. 14-30

47

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

Disappointment about a ‘failed economic project’
Recent research confirmed the continuing existence of these attitudes. Research by Medico
International & Brot für die Welt indicated that: ‘Families in countries of origin often understandreturns as failed migration projects for which migrants carry an individual responsibility.’377 Female
returnees indeed often reported to feel as if they let their families down, by not managing to send
remittances home.378 Male returnees, whose families often had to sell land or other belongings tofund their sons’ travel, reported similar feelings of failure.379 Based on interviews with seven returnees
Lanre Olusegun Ikuteyijo found that ‘many of the returnees were stigmatized by friends and relatives
and thus failed to improve their social as well as economic status.’380
This applies to minor returnees as well. A survey with this target group revealed that while more than
80 % of the minor returnees reported that their families were happy to have them back, others still
indicated to have the sense they disappointed their families. Moreover, a significant share of theunderage returnees experienced abuse by community members and – to a lesser extent – their own
families upon return. 381 Physical violence against minor returnees was a very rare occurrence though:‘With respect to the interactions between community and returnees, survey data shed lighton returnees’ experience of psychological and physical violence perpetrated by thecommunity and/ or family members. 42.9 % reported experiencing verbal abuse, 14.3 %experienced bullying, and a few participants reported physical attacks against them. Female
returnees reported more cases of verbal insults (34 %) than physical attacks (4 %) or bulling(16 %). 35.3 % reported that community members had been the attackers while 16 %reported being victims of domestic abuse. For both the male and the female returnees,
community members are the most usual attackers.’382
As the study did not include a control group, it is not clear whether these experiences were unique tounderage returnee migrants or were also common amongst other young Nigerians.

Family attitudes towards returnee victims of sex trafficking
In case of ‘unsuccessful’ returns of victims of sex trafficking, the actual response of families andcommunities upon return seems to be mixed. Human Rights Watch indicated that the majority ofwomen and girls who participated in their research were welcomed or at least accepted by theirfamilies upon return.383 Another source indicated that the extent to which a victim will be stigmatised(or welcomed) also depends on prior relations between the victim and her family members.384 Human
Rights Watch reported cases in which returned trafficking victims were mocked, insulted and bullied

377 Medico International & Brot fur die Welt, Emergency returns by IOM from Libya and Niger, July 2020, url, p. 17. See also:

ECPAT, Religious, Social and Criminal Groups in Trafficking of Nigerian Girls and Women, 2019, url, p. 80
378 Samyn, S., Seksmigratie als deel van de overlevingseconomie in Nigeria [Sex migration as part of the survival economy in
Nigeria], 2018, url, p. 10; Apard, E., et al., «La prostitution, ça ne tue pas !», 2020, url, p. 69 ; Olabisi Oluwatoyin, T. and A.
Akinyoade, Coercion or Volition: Making Sense of the Experiences of Female Victims of Trafficking from Nigeria in the
Netherlands, 2015, url, pp. 184-185
379 BBC, I sold all I had to go to Europe - now I'm home, and broke, 7 May 2018, url; De Correspondent, Dit is grensbewaking
anno 2018: creëer onderweg een hel, zodat migranten massaal terug naar huis willen [This is border control in 2018: create
hell on the way, so that migrants want to return home en masse], 21 August 2018, url
380 Olusegun Ikuteyijo, L., Irregular Migration as Survival Strategy: Narratives from Youth in Urban Nigeria, West African Youth
Challenges and Opportunity Pathways, url, p. 72
381 Digidiki, V. and J. Bhabha/IOM, Returning Home: The reintegration challenges facing child and youth returnees from Libya
to Nigeria, 2019, url, p. 31
382 Digidiki, V. and J. Bhabha/IOM, Returning Home: The reintegration challenges facing child and youth returnees from Libya
to Nigeria, 2019, url, p. 31
383 Human Rights Watch, “You Pray for Death”: Trafficking of Women and Girls in Nigeria, 2019, url, p. 45. See also: DW,
Nigerian returnees face poverty and destitution back home, 2 February 2018, url; Samyn, S., Seksmigratie als deel van deoverlevingseconomie in Nigeria [Sex migration as part of the survival economy in Nigeria], 2018, url, p. 10
384 Mossino, A., Director PIAM ONLUS, interview 5 October 2020

48

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

by family members.385 Sources also reported cases in which family members tried to retraffic returnee
victims.386 Human Rights Watch interviewed several minor returnee trafficking victims who stayed inorphanages because they could not return to abusive families. This abuse, however, predated thetrafficking experience.387

Shame about prostitution in case of unsuccessful returns?
With regard to victims of sex trafficking in particular, research and articles in international media
confirmed that migration towards Europe to work in prostitution continued to be encouraged andaccepted by families and communities in Edo State, if it results in remittances.388 The observation thatprostitution is accepted, provided that it pays off, therefore still applies.389
In case returnees return empty handed they are sometimes stigmatised and bullied for the fact they
engaged in prostitution at the community level.390 Sometimes Nigerian trafficking victims return withchildren, especially women who got stuck in Libya and were raped by guards and sexually exploitedas prostitutes. The added burden of a child can result in more hostile attitudes by family members. 391
France24, for instance, finds that:‘Whatever their origins, in Nigeria these children born in Libya are nicknamed "Arabo
children" -- stigmatised for the circumstances of their birth. "Some will say 'those Arabo
children, we don't want them in our house'," Jennifer Ero, national coordinator for Nigeria'sChild Protection Network, said. When the women leave on the journey to Europe, families
expect them to end up sending back money to help relatives at home. But the reality can bevery different. "Now they come back, they didn't reach Europe, they come with debts, andwith baggage -- with a child with no name," Ero said.’392

3.3 Relocation in Nigeria
As a result of the fear – real or imagined - of disappointing their families and getting stigmatised upon
return to Nigeria, and – for those who did not have a sponsor - the desire to repay the debts they
incurred when embarking on the journey to Europe, many returnees/victims of trafficking want tobuild up their lives in another region of the country before facing their family members andcommunities.393 The 2015 EASO report indicated that the concept of ‘indigeneity’ – which treats
individuals whose families originate from a region preferentially– posed an obstacle to those wanting
to relocate to a different part of the country. It concluded that ‘although relocation in another part of
Nigeria might be feasible and possible for victims who feel threatened by traffickers, they would need
economic support and a social network or members of their ethnic group to sustain a safe livelihoodin their new place of residence.’394 Since the last report, the situation has not significantly changed in

385 Human Rights Watch, “You Pray for Death” Trafficking of Women and Girls in Nigeria, 2019, url, pp. 8, 46, 52-53
386 Trouw, Benin City loopt leeg: waarom de vrouwenhandel van Afrika naar Europa niet te stoppen is [Benin City is emptying:

Why the trafficking of women from Africa to Europe cannot be stopped], 25 May 2018, url; Human Rights Watch, “You Prayfor Death” Trafficking of Women and Girls in Nigeria, 2019, url, p. 45
387 Human Rights Watch, “You Pray for Death” Trafficking of Women and Girls in Nigeria, 2019, url, pp. 37, 66
388 Apard, E., et al., «La prostitution, ça ne tue pas !», 2020, url, p.69
389 EASO analysis by drafter.
390 Human Rights Watch, “You Pray for Death” Trafficking of Women and Girls in Nigeria, 2019, url, p. 46
391 France24, Nigerian women struggle to raise children born of Libya rape, 1 August 2019, url
392 France24, Nigerian women struggle to raise children born of Libya rape, 1 August 2019, url
393 BBC, I sold all I had to go to Europe - now I'm home, and broke, 7 May 2018, url; Representative of internationalorganisation C, interview 12 November 2020; Human Rights Watch, “You Pray for Death” Trafficking of Women and Girls in
Nigeria, 2019, url, p. 47
394 EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information Report - Nigeria – Sex Trafficking of women, October 2015, url, p. 47. It cites:
DIS, Protection of victims of trafficking in Nigeria, April 2008, p. 51

49

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

this regard. The system of indigeneity is still reported.395 It mostly erects obstacles to access to political
office, jobs in civil service, and – in some places – land.396 The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs
and Trade (DFAT) indicated that the system is not applied in big cities such as Abuja and Lagos397, butother research contests this claim with regard to Lagos.398 Sources agreed that having a social network
is still a core prerequisite for moving to another region in Nigeria, as without a social network it isnearly impossible to find a job and housing.399 International return programmes and certain NigerianNGOs pay housing for returnees, including trafficking victims, in different regions of the country.400

3.4 Shelter, rehabilitation and reintegration support
As described in the 2015 report on sex trafficking, Nigeria’s anti-trafficking act – the Trafficking in
Persons (Prohibition) Law Enforcement and Administration Act (TIPLEAA), which entered into force in
2003, established a national anti-trafficking body, NAPTIP.401 This agency is according to Section 12 of
the 2015 revision of the TIPLEAA - since then referred to as the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition)
Enforcement and Administration Act (TIPPEA)402 - in charge of the counselling, rehabilitation andreintegration of trafficking victims. NAPTIP has zonal command offices in nine Nigerian states andprovides these services in cooperation ‘with ministries and agencies like Ministry of Women’s Affairs
and Social Development, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced
Persons (NCFRMI), a host of non-governmental organisations, and international agencies such as theInternational Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Salvation Army’.403 This section describes thescope of these activities and, where possible, what have been the effects of the various of support
programmes for Nigerian returnees.

3.4.1 Shelter for victims of trafficking
The Nigerian government is in charge of the residential rehabilitation model for the assistance andprotection of survivors of trafficking.404 The provision of shelter for identified survivors rests on NAPTIP
and NGOs with shelter facilities.

Capacity of NAPTIP shelters
NAPTIP has ten transit shelters across the country, located at each zonal command405 and at theheadquarters in Abuja406, with the capacity to accommodate 334 victims, if operating at full
capacity.407 NAPTIP shelters provide shelter for up to six weeks, unless victims are exceptionallyvulnerable and/or they decide to collaborate with the criminal investigation into and prosecution of
their traffickers.408 Based on interviews with NAPTIP officials Human Right Watch, however, found395 European University Institute, Report on Citizenship Law: Nigeria, July 2020, url, p. 16
396 Fourchard, L., Bureaucrats and Indigenes: Producing and Bypassing Certificates of Origin in Nigeria, Africa, 2015, url
397 Australia, DFAT, DFAT Country Information Report Nigeria, December 2020, url, p. 57
398 Akinyele, R.T., Lagos is our land: indigeneship associations and the protection of the rights of Lagosians since 1950, Lagos

Historical Review, 2016, url
399 Foreign journalist, interview 28 October 2020; Alpes, M.J. and I. Majcher, Who Can Be Sustainably Reintegrated After
Return? Using post-return monitoring for rights-based return policies, 2020, url, p. 9
400 Representative of international organisation C, interview 12 November 2020; Director Nigerian NGO, interview 10
November 2020
401 EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information Report - Nigeria – Sex Trafficking of women, October 2015, url, p. 18
402 Nigeria, Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition), Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015, url
403 Okoli, N. and U. Idemudia, Survivor’s Perceptions of Human Trafficking Rehabilitation Programs in Nigeria, 2020, url, p. 4
404 International Organisation A, confidential report December 2020, p. 26
405 In the cities Lagos, Benin, Uyo, Enugu, Kano, Sokoto, Maiduguri, Osun and Makurdi.
406 International Organisation A, confidential report December 2020, p. 67
407 International Organisation A, confidential report December 2020, p. 67
408 Okoli, N. and U Idemudia, Survivor’s Perceptions of Human Trafficking Rehabilitation Programs in Nigeria, 2020, url, p. 4

50

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

that ‘the time limit is up to NAPTIP’s discretion, taking into account things like family problems.’409
According to the academics Okoli and Idemudia, the actual time that victims stay in NAPTIP shelters
varies:‘The length of stay in the shelters is determined by the peculiarities of each case. For example,
survivors who were coerced into trafficking and suffered severe trauma may stay for up to six
weeks in the shelters to recuperate while some survivors who were aware of the probabledangers before being trafficked or who were intercepted by law enforcement before arriving
at the final destination may want to stay for just one or two weeks or decline shelter stay
because they do not necessarily consider themselves “victims”.’410
In September 2018, the UN Special Rapporteur has expressed concern about the short duration of theprovision of shelter by NAPTIP and the fact that NAPTIP centres have been used to accommodate
victims of other types of gender-based violence as well, resulting in a reduction of available spaces forvictims of human trafficking.411 Other sources, however, indicated not to be aware of a lack of shelter
opportunities for trafficking victims. NAPTIP coordinates with NGOs that provide shelter and otherservices to victims of human trafficking for a longer period.412 An NGO representative in Edo indicatedthat taken together, sufficient capacity was available for the accommodation of trafficking victims in
Edo.413

Quality of care in NAPTIP shelters
NAPTIP shelters do not live up to international standards for the shelter of human trafficking victims,
according to OHCHR.414 As was the case in 2015, a lack of sufficient resources negatively affected theoverall quality of the services provided by NAPTIP. Sources indicated that due to the poor living
conditions in NAPTIP shelters many human trafficking victims – and particularly those who returned
from Europe415 – refused to reside there.416 The closed nature of NAPTIP shelters has been the subjectof criticism by various stakeholders417, including the UN Special rapporteur.418 During their six-week
stay in a NAPTIP shelter victims are not allowed to be in touch with the outside world, including theirfamilies.419 The rationale behind this approach is to protect victims against retrafficking and/or
reprisals while they cooperate with law enforcement. It is not clear to what extent this approach iseffective. The UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children

409 Human Rights Watch, “You Pray for Death”: Trafficking of Women and Girls in Nigeria, 2019, url, p. 57
410 Okoli, N. and U Idemudia, Survivor’s Perceptions of Human Trafficking Rehabilitation Programs in Nigeria, 2020, url, p. 6
411 OHCHR, End of visit statement, Nigeria (3-10 September) by Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, UN Special Rapporteur on

Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, 10 September 2018, url
412 Okoli, N. and U Idemudia, ‘Survivor’s Perceptions of Human Trafficking Rehabilitation Programs in Nigeria: Empowerment
or Disempowerment?’, 2020, url, p. 6 ; Director Nigerian NGO, interview 10 November 2020
413 Representative of international organisation A, interview 21 October 2020; Director Nigerian NGO, interview 10
November 2020
414 OHCHR, End of visit statement, Nigeria (3-10 September) by Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, UN Special Rapporteur on
Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, 10 September 2018, url
415 Nwoha, R., Representative Idia Renessaince, interview 19 November 2020
416 Nwoha, R., Representative Idia Renessaince, interview 19 November 2020; International Organisation A, confidential
report December 2020, p. 64: ‘This situation also contributed to the under-utilisation of shelters as they were not seen as
viable spaces for recovery, which required a much longer-term approach to assistance. One victim’s view, after assistanceprovision in Edo state, was that she preferred to return to Libya, from where she had been evacuated, because at least there‘she had been fed chicken by her trafficker and could earn some money, whereas here she had nothing’.’
417 Human Rights Watch, “You Pray for Death”: Trafficking of Women and Girls in Nigeria, 2019, url, p. 7
418 OHCHR, End of visit statement, Nigeria (3-10 September) by Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, UN Special Rapporteur on
Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, 10 September 2018, url
419 Vanderhurst, S., Governing with God: Religion, Resistance, and the State in Nigeria's Counter‐Trafficking Programs, 2017,
url, pp. 195-196

51

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

stipulated that closed shelters breach human trafficking victims’ fundamental rights.420 Victims also
indicated not to be aware of when they would be allowed to leave the facilities.421

NGO shelters
Shelters managed by NGOs can have an open or a closed policy. Some NGOs provide victims withthe opportunity to reside for up to one or two years in a different region of the country, allowing
them to escape their traffickers and/or family members who stigmatise them or force them toreturn to situations of exploitation.422 The Network of CSOs Against Child Trafficking, Abuse andLabour (NACTAL), which represents various Nigerian anti-trafficking NGOs, runs fourteen open
shelters in Nigeria.423
In 2020, Lagos counted at least twelve NGO shelters catering to underage and female trafficking
victims424, managed by:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.

Real Women Foundation (Peace Villa)
Sought After Women and Children Foundation (House of Sharon)
Web of Heart Foundation
Project Alert
Cece Yara
PBO (Genesis Home and Grace Home)
Mirabel Center, Project ALERT
Echoes of Mercy and Hope Foundation
Women helping Ends Initiative Shelter
Freedom Foundation (Genesis House)
Bakhita Foundation

Edo State counted at least four such shelters, managed by the NGOs: 425
1. Committed Support for the Dignity of Women (COSUDOW)
2. Society for empowerment of young People (SEYP)
3. Pathfinders Justice initiative
Edo also has a shelter run by its state task force (instead of NAPTIP).426
The quality of NGO shelters greatly differs depending on the available resources/donor funding. 427
This is reflected in research with trafficking victims in various NGO shelters. Some victims indicatedtheir basic needs are met and they have access to education and training428, while others indicated420 OHCHR, End of visit statement, Nigeria (3-10 September) by Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, UN Special Rapporteur on

Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, 10 September 2018, url; Representative of international organisation
A, interview 21 October 2020
421 Human Rights Watch, “You Pray for Death”: Trafficking of Women and Girls in Nigeria, 2019, url, p. 7
422 Director Nigerian NGO, interview 10 November 2020
423 International Organisation A, confidential report December 2020, p. 68
424 Azu, E., A Report of Gender Audit of Protection Services and shelters in Lagos State for Preventing Forced Migration andTrafficking of Women and Girls’ in Nigeria, September 2020, p. 3 [Unpublished]; Okoli, N. and U Idemudia, ‘Survivor’s
Perceptions of Human Trafficking Rehabilitation Programs in Nigeria: Empowerment or Disempowerment?’, 2020, url, p. 6425 Basil Ofili, I., Gender Audit Report: Assessment of Protection Services & Shelters for Trafficked Victims and Returnees in
Edo State, September 2020, p. 14 [Unpublished]
426 Leadership, Obaseki Names World Class Returnees’ Shelter After Daisy Danjuma, September 2020, url
427 Nwoha, R., Representative Idia Renessaince, interview 19 November 2020
428 Okoli, N. and U Idemudia, ‘Survivor’s Perceptions of Human Trafficking Rehabilitation Programs in Nigeria: Empowerment
or Disempowerment?’, 2020, url, p. 1252

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

they did not get sufficient food and experienced abuse by the staff running the shelter.429 Research by
an international organisation in Nigeria concluded that overall ‘shelters are generally in poor
condition, ill-equipped and with minimal service provision’, and that this was the case particularly
regarding civil society shelters.430 Other research indicated that due to lack of resources most NGO
shelters in Edo do not have the required skills and expertise in managing unstable behaviours ofsurvivors of trafficking and unsafe migration, which is reflected in the slow response to counselling
requests from victims who are dealing with a range of mental health issues.431

Shelter for (female) trafficking victims with specific needs
Research indicated that shelters’ limited access to funding contributes to ‘inaccessibility ofrehabilitation services for persons who are HIV and Hepatitis C positive, pregnant and with children’.
According to research by Okoli, two out of the three Lagos-based NGO shelters she studied, did not
admit these categories of survivors, because they did not have the necessary capacity to cater to theirneeds.432

Shelter for underage trafficking victims
NAPTIP shelters provide shelter to minor (boys and girls) and female adult victims of trafficking.
Experts consider this problematic, as generally children should be cared for separately to adults.433
While some minor victims find shelter in NGO shelters for trafficking victims, Human Rights Watch
also identified a case of an underage trafficking victim referred to an orphanage for long-term
support.434 US Department of State (USDOS) confirmed that ‘authorities sometimes assigned childtrafficking victims to foster homes or orphanages for care.’435 A representative of an internationalorganisation in Nigeria indicated that the quality of orphanages in Nigeria generally is ‘abysmal’436, butalso here applies that big differences exist between facilities dependent on the available(international) donor funding. According to a recent evaluation of orphanages in four different
Nigerian states, both privately as well as state-run orphanages did not have sufficient resources anddepended largely on charity.437 Some orphanages were reported to lack basic services including beds
for all children, sufficient food and clean sanitary facilities. Not all orphans provided access to medicalcare and education. 438 According to the research, orphanages ran by private entities scored slightly
better than state-run orphanages. Examples of orphanages that according to this study did manage tocater to the basic needs of vulnerable children in Cross River State are: Blessed Hope and Faith Foster
Family, Gapolunya Children’s Residential Home, Mother Elizabeth Redeemed Home, Society for Youth
Development and Rescue Initiative. Examples of such orphanages in Lagos State are: Don Bosco BoysStreet Children Home, Motherless Babies Home Lekki, Bales of Mercy Children’s Home Kosofe.439

429 Okoli, N. and U Idemudia, ‘Survivor’s Perceptions of Human Trafficking Rehabilitation Programs in Nigeria: Empowerment

or Disempowerment?’, 2020, url, pp. 12, 14 ; Human Rights Watch, “You Pray for Death”: Trafficking of Women and Girls in
Nigeria, 2019, url, p. 7
430 International Organisation A, confidential report December 2020, p. 67
431 Basil Ofili, I., Gender Audit Report: Assessment of Protection Services & Shelters for Trafficked Victims and Returnees in
Edo State, September 2020, p. 17 [Unpublished]
432 Okoli, N.H., Empowerment and Reintegration: Survivors’ Perceptions of Human Trafficking, 2020, url, p. 110
433 International Organisation A, confidential report December 2020, p. 68
434 Human Rights Watch, “You Pray for Death”: Trafficking of Women and Girls in Nigeria, 2019, url, p. 37
435 US, USDOS, Trafficking in Persons Report 2020: Nigeria, 25 June 2020, url, p. 380
436 Representative of international organisation B, written responses 1 December 2020
437 Unpublished UNICEF assessment, 30 June 2020; Nigeria Health Watch, A Different Kind of Charity; Empowering
Orphanages to Fight Malnutrition in the FCT, 16 April 2019, url
438 Unpublished UNICEF assessment, 30 June 2020
439 Unpublished UNICEF assessment, 30 June 202053

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

Shelter for adult male returnees
The UN Special Rapporteur identified a lack of shelter for adult male trafficking victims.440 In 2020,
local NGOs created two shelters for male returnees in Lagos and Edo State.441 The Patriotic Citizen
Initiatives (PCI) manages the location in Lagos and the Society for the Empowerment of Young Persons(SEYP) manages the Edo shelter.442 No data were available on the quality of services provided by theseshelters. Edo State also runs a hostel for male returnees.443

3.4.2 Economic reintegration support for trafficking victims
Besides providing shelter, NAPTIP is in charge of programmes aimed at the (economic) reintegrationof trafficking victims. According to its website, NAPTIP has a rehabilitation department with 107 staff
members who contribute both to the provision of counselling and training aimed at economic
reintegration.444 This training focuses on skills such as ‘knitting, weaving, fashion design, hair dressing,catering, hat making, beads making and photography’.445 However, research by Okoli and Idemudia
indicated that for instance in Lagos the NAPTIP shelter did not provide vocational training, because ofa lack of equipment446, and that therefore (in Lagos) NAPTIP referred victims to NGO partners who dohave the capacity to provide economic reintegration support. In addition, sources indicate that
trafficking victims did not always end up under NAPTIP’s umbrella and ended up participating in theregular EU/IOM economic reintegration programme.447

NGOs leading on reintegration
In general, throughout the country, NAPTIP coordinates with a range of other government agencies
and NGOs to provide economic reintegration support. In Edo the Ministry of Social Development andGender Issues runs a skills acquisition centre, as do the NGOs Pathfinders Justice Initiative, Idia
Renaissance, Genius Hub Global Initiative, Fullness of Life Counselling and Development Initiative(FULIFE).448 In Lagos the Real Women Foundation, Bakitha, Rehoboth Homes and Skill Acquisition
Center, and the Web of Heart Foundation provide economic reintegration support.449 According tovarious sources, NAPTIP and this type of service providers had a ‘cordial’450 working relationship.451
However, actual coordination between different service providers was considered to be lacking
resulting in a poor offer of reintegration services with too much overlaps.452

440 OHCHR, End of visit statement, Nigeria (3-10 September) by Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, UN Special Rapporteur on

Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, 10 September 2018, url
441 Director Nigerian NGO, interview 10 November 2020; Azu, E., A Report of Gender Audit of Protection Services and shelters
in Lagos State for Preventing Forced Migration and Trafficking of Women and Girls’ in Nigeria, September 2020, p. 7
[Unpublished]; Basil Ofili, I., Gender Audit Report: Assessment of Protection Services & Shelters for Trafficked Victims andReturnees in Edo State, September 2020, p. 14 [Unpublished]
442 Director Nigerian NGO, interview 10 November 2020
443 Leadership, Obaseki Names World Class Returnees’ Shelter After Daisy Danjuma, September 2020, url
444 See: Nigeria, NAPTIP, Counselling And Rehabilitation, n.d., url
445 See: Nigeria, NAPTIP, Counselling And Rehabilitation, n.d., url
446 Okoli, N. and U. Idemudia, Survivor’s Perceptions of Human Trafficking Rehabilitation Programs in Nigeria, 2020, url, p. 6
447 Human Rights Watch, “You Pray for Death”: Trafficking of Women and Girls in Nigeria, 2019, url, p. 70
448 Basil Ofili, I., Gender Audit Report: Assessment of Protection Services & Shelters for Trafficked Victims and Returnees in
Edo State, September 2020, pp. 43-44 [Unpublished]
449 Azu, E., A Report of Gender Audit of Protection Services and shelters in Lagos State for Preventing Forced Migration andTrafficking of Women and Girls’ in Nigeria, September 2020, p. 3 [Unpublished]
450 Basil Ofili, I., Gender Audit Report: Assessment of Protection Services & Shelters for Trafficked Victims and Returnees in
Edo State, September 2020, p. 32 [Unpublished]
451 Okoli, N. and U. Idemudia, Survivor’s Perceptions of Human Trafficking Rehabilitation Programs in Nigeria, 2020, url, p. 7452 Basil Ofili, I., Gender Audit Report: Assessment of Protection Services & Shelters for Trafficked Victims and Returnees in
Edo State, September 2020 [Unpublished]; International Organisation A, confidential report December 2020, p. 69

54

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

Reintegration offers
With regard to quality of the (vocational) training programmes, sources remarked there is a‘saturation in certain areas (hairdressing, catering, fashion design), which ultimately limits the earningpotential of survivors’453, and that most ‘training was not based on an assessment of labour market
needs.’454 Experts concluded that there is need for diversification of the training offer with a focus on
entrepreneurial455 and digital skills.456 Stakeholders also identified the short duration of some training
programmes and absence of the provision of transportation to and from trainings as obstacles
hampering their efficacy.457 Experts also criticised the lack of economic reintegration programmes
tailored to male victims of trafficking.458 In Edo returnees are encouraged to take part in The Edo Jobs
Programme.459
Despite the predominantly negative assessment of the current state of economic reintegration
support in Nigeria, reports also identified positive exceptions. Some programmes provide trafficking
victims up to 24 months of training460, and/or tailored training to the specific needs and preferencesof trafficking victims, including with regard to placement opportunities.461 In general, it should be
noted that returnees and returnee trafficking victims have access to more training opportunities for
economic empowerment than most of their peers who did not leave Nigeria.462

Reintegration packages/kits upon completion of training
In case of voluntary return from European countries trafficking victims and other returnees receive an(in kind) grant to accelerate their economic reintegration in Nigeria.463 The available amount seems todiffer according to the country from which the person returns464, and is almost entirely provided
through in kind support.465 Trafficking victims who participate in EU-IOM programmes, facilitating
return from other African countries, can also try to access funding packages for economic
reintegration (see Section 3.1). Many returnees indicate that this funding is not sufficient to provide
for basic needs, particularly when victims have children and family members to take care of.466

453 INSigHT, Building Capacity to Deal with Human Trafficking and Transit Routes in Nigeria, Italy, June 10-11, 2019, url
454 International Organisation A, confidential report December 2020, p. 69. See also: Human Rights Watch, “You Pray for

Death”: Trafficking of Women and Girls in Nigeria, 2019, url, p. 74
455 INSigHT, Building Capacity to Deal with Human Trafficking and Transit Routes in Nigeria, Italy, June 10-11, 2019, url, p. viii
456 Basil Ofili, I., Gender Audit Report: Assessment of Protection Services & Shelters for Trafficked Victims and Returnees in
Edo State, September 2020, p. 13 [Unpublished]
457 Idahosa, R. Evon, Founder/Executive Director Pathfinders Justice Initiative, interview 24 February 2021; De
Correspondent, What happens to migrants who are sent back? I spent a year following 12 people to find out, 9 January 2020,
url; Medico International & Brot fur die Welt, Emergency returns by IOM from Libya and Niger, July 2020, url, p. 16
458 INSigHT, Building Capacity to Deal with Human Trafficking and Transit Routes in Nigeria, Italy, June 10-11, 2019, url, p. viii
459 Switzerland, SEM, Focus Nigeria, Etat d’Edo, émigration et retour, 22 March 2019, p. 14
460 Okoli, N. and U Idemudia, ‘Survivor’s Perceptions of Human Trafficking Rehabilitation Programs in Nigeria: Empowerment
or Disempowerment?’, url, p. 6
461 INSigHT, Building Capacity to Deal with Human Trafficking and Transit Routes in Nigeria, Italy, June 10-11, 2019, url, p.
viii; Okoli, N. and U Idemudia, ‘Survivor’s Perceptions of Human Trafficking Rehabilitation Programs in Nigeria: Empowerment
or Disempowerment?’, 2020, url, p. 6
462 De Correspondent, Dit is grensbewaking anno 2018: creëer onderweg een hel, zodat migranten massaal terug naar huiswillen [This is border control in 2018: create hell on the way, so that migrants want to return home en masse], 21 August
2018, url; De Correspondent, Europese hulp voor terugkerende migranten wérkt (maar is ook een prikkel om de oversteekte wagen) [European support for returnees is effective (but also encourages migrants to cross)], 19 October 2018, url
463 Plambech, S., Back from “the Other Side”: The Postdeportee Life of Nigerian Migrant Sex Workers, 2018, url, pp. 91-92
464 Sine Plambech reported based on fieldwork in 2016 that the maximum amount of the available grant was 1200 euro. Sine
Plambech, Back from “the Other Side”: The Postdeportee Life of Nigerian Migrant Sex Workers, 2018, url, pp. 91-92 . In 2020
the Netherlands provided adult voluntary returnees to Nigeria with 1800 euro, and minors with 2800 euro. See: IOM in the
Netherlands, What is Reintegration Assistance?, n.d., url
465 See: IOM in the Netherlands, What is Reintegration Assistance?, n.d., url.
466 Human Rights Watch, “You Pray for Death”: Trafficking of Women and Girls in Nigeria, 2019, url, pp. 7, 47

55

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

Several sources alluded to the fact that NAPTIP itself is also supposed to provide trafficking victims
with a reintegration/empowerment package upon completion of skills training programmes by
NGOs467, in case no international funding is available. NAPTIP’s policy guidance indeed indicates that
NAPTIP aims to provide trafficking victims with ‘training kits and resettlement tools’, and will liaise
with financial institutions to provide micro-credits.468 The empowerment packages usually consist of
grants, rented store spaces, equipment for skills they learned in rehabilitation, and rented
apartments.469
One of the resources for these empowerment packages is the Victims of Trafficking Trust Fund, which
was established under the 2015 TIPPEA.470 Funding for the trust fund is obtained through a direct
grant from the Nigerian government, voluntary contributions by NAPTIP partners and confiscatedassets of traffickers. However, one source indicated that a large share of trafficking victims whocompleted reintegration training did not receive the promised economic package471, and various
NGOs that supported the reintegration of trafficking victims indicated not to be aware of the existenceof the Victims Trust Fund.472 Those that were aware of the existence of the fund indicated that they
did not know how to access its resources.473 Human Rights Watch confirms that the fund’s
implementation is unclear.474 Research indicates that the empowerment packages are selectively
bestowed on well performing returnees475, and that NGOs sometimes depend on the philanthropy ofrich individuals to award this type of packages.476

Results of reintegration projects
Specifically with regard to the (economic) reintegration of female victims of human trafficking, various
sources imply that a minority of them manages to become economically independent after return.
Human Rights Watch indicated that out of the 76 victims of human trafficking it had interviewed for areport about return477, only four said they had been assisted by NGOs to set up successful
businesses.478 The report indicated that the economic situation of almost all returnee trafficking
victims was worse than upon departure. Various women cited in this study indicated not to havesufficient money to buy food for themselves and their children.479 Other research with thirteen victimsof sex trafficking who had returned to Nigeria, indicated that two managed to create a business, two
had found a stable job and three were enrolled in higher education. The other six had no jobs orirregular jobs.480 Articles in the media also include testimonies of returned victims of sex trafficking
467 Okoli, N.H., Empowerment and Reintegration: Survivors’ Perceptions of Human Trafficking Rehabilitation Programs in

Nigeria, 2020, url, p. 107; Basil Ofili, I., Gender Audit Report: Assessment of Protection Services & Shelters for Trafficked
Victims and Returnees in Edo State, September 2020, p. 31 [Unpublished]
468 Nigeria, NAPTIP, National Policy on Protection and Assistance to Trafficked Persons in Nigeria, 2008, p. 18
469 Okoli, N. and U Idemudia, ‘Survivor’s Perceptions of Human Trafficking Rehabilitation Programs in Nigeria: Empowerment
or Disempowerment?’, 2020, url, p. 7
470 Nigeria, Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Law Enforcement and Administration Act, 2003, Article 67, url
471 Okoli, N.H., Empowerment and Reintegration: Survivors’ Perceptions of Human Trafficking Rehabilitation Programs in
Nigeria, , 2020, url, p. 116
472 Azu, E., A Report of Gender Audit of Protection Services and shelters in Lagos State for Preventing Forced Migration andTrafficking of Women and Girls’ in Nigeria, September 2020, p. 4 [Unpublished]
473 Azu, E., A Report of Gender Audit of Protection Services and shelters in Lagos State for Preventing Forced Migration andTrafficking of Women and Girls’ in Nigeria, September 2020, p. 4 [Unpublished]
474 Human Rights Watch, “You Pray for Death”: Trafficking of Women and Girls in Nigeria, 2019, url, p. 20
475 Vanderhurst, S., Governing with God: Religion, Resistance, and the State in Nigeria's Counter‐Trafficking Programs, 2017,url
476 Okoli, N.H. Empowerment and Reintegration: Survivors’ Perceptions of Human Trafficking Rehabilitation Programs in
Nigeria, 2020, url, pp. 109-110
477 More than forty of these respondents were trafficked into sexual exploitation. See: Human Rights Watch, “You Pray for
Death”: Trafficking of Women and Girls in Nigeria, 2019, url, p. 34
478 Human Rights Watch, “You Pray for Death”: Trafficking of Women and Girls in Nigeria, 2019, url, p. 73
479 Human Rights Watch, “You Pray for Death”: Trafficking of Women and Girls in Nigeria, 2019, url, pp. 7, 47
480 Okoli, N. and U Idemudia, ‘Survivor’s Perceptions of Human Trafficking Rehabilitation Programs in Nigeria: Empowerment
or Disempowerment?’, 2020, url, p. 15

56

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

who have not managed to find a stable income.481 Sources find that, as is the case for all West African
returnees, it was easier for victims of sex trafficking to stay afloat economically in case they had
managed to send money home before their return and family had used this money to invest in realestate of land.482 In general, it should be noted that unemployment amongst men and women in Edo
State is high, and that returnee trafficking victims have access to more support by NAPTIP,
international organisations and local NGOs than average citizens.483

Impact of IOM reintegration support
Not only reintegration programmes specifically focused at female trafficking victims did not deliver
desired outcomes. The EU-IOM economic reintegration programmes are characterised by a relatively
high level of dropouts and conflicting accounts exist with regard to their efficacy. Between 1 April 2017
and the end of January 2020 IOM initiated reintegration support with 11 991 returnees. Of this group,
4 367 returnees had completed the trajectory by January 2020.484 Articles in international media and(academic) research indicated that returnees dropped out of reintegration programmes because of
bureaucratic obstacles and/or the costs associated with participation in the IOM trajectory. Returnees
were for instance not able to pay for transportation to training locations or IOM offices.485
While the IOM’s own evaluations indicate that those who finalise the (economic) reintegration
programmes are satisfied with the support and mostly managed to ‘sustainably reintegrate’, external
research suggest that also those who do finalise reintegration programmes struggle to keep afloat
independently. In a recent IOM evaluation of reintegration support with 610 Nigerian returnees, 85 %indicated to be satisfied or very satisfied with IOM support.486 77 % indicated that the support
answered to all or a large share of their needs.487 According to IOM research most of the respondents
also managed to reintegrated ‘sustainably’ at the economic, psychosocial and social level.488 Various
other sources question these findings and indicate that also the majority of returnees who finalised
the IOM programme did not manage to become economically independent.489 A source indicated that
the IOM’s focus on the creation of businesses by groups of returnees negatively affected the efficacyof reintegration support, as motivated returnees were negatively impacted by unmotivated membersin their groups.490

481 De Correspondent, Maak kennis met de mensen achter de ‘migratiestroom’. Deze vrouw overleefde 12 jaar als illegale

seksslaaf [Meet the people behind the ‘migration influx’. This woman survived twelve years as an illegal sex slave], 13 April
2019, url; EuroNews, Abused in Libya and forced into prostitution back home: the nightmare of trying to reach Europe, 21
June 2020, url; Trouw, Benin City loopt leeg: waarom de vrouwenhandel van Afrika naar Europa niet te stoppen is [Benin
City is emptying: Why the trafficking of women from Africa to Europe cannot be stopped] 25 May 2018, url; Washington Post
(The), Nigerians return from slavery in Libya to thriving sex-trafficking industry back home, 23 January 2018, url
482 Medico International & Brot fur die Welt, Emergency returns by IOM from Libya and Niger, July 2020, url, p. 18; De
Correspondent, Maak kennis met de mensen achter de ‘migratiestroom’. Deze vrouw overleefde 12 jaar als illegale seksslaaf[Meet the people behind the ‘migration influx’. This woman survived twelve years as an illegal sex slave], 13 April 2019, url
483 Vanderhurst, S., Governing with God: Religion, Resistance, and the State in Nigeria's Counter‐Trafficking Programs, 2017,url . See also: De Correspondent, Europese hulp voor terugkerende migranten wérkt (maar is ook een prikkel om de oversteekte wagen) [European support for returnees is effective (but also encourages migrants to cross)], 19 October 2018, url
484 EU-IOM, Biannual Reintegration Report #3, July 2020, url, p. 24
485 Correspondent (The), What happens to migrants who are sent back? I spent a year following 12 people to find out, 9January 2020, url; Medico International & Brot fur die Welt, Emergency returns by IOM from Libya and Niger, 16, July 2020,
url, p. 16
486 EU-IOM, Biannual Reintegration Report #3, July 2020, url, p. 42
487 EU-IOM, Biannual Reintegration Report #3, July 2020, url, p. 43
488 EU IOM, Biannual Reintegration Report #3, July 2020, url, p. 44
489 De Correspondent, Zo ziet het leven van 12 teruggekeerde migranten in Nigeria eruit (gefotografeerd door hen zelf) [Thisis what the life of twelve returnees in Nigeria looks like (photographed by themselves)], 29 August 2019, url; Human Rights
Watch, “You Pray for Death”: Trafficking of Women and Girls in Nigeria, 2019, url, pp. 47, 73-74
490 Correspondent (The), What happens to migrants who are sent back? I spent a year following 12 people to find out, 9January 2020, url

57

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

Specifically with regard to minor returnees, research indicated that 41.6 % of the respondents who
had received IOM support were dissatisfied with the nature of this support, compared to 39.6 % who
indicated to be satisfied or very satisfied.491 Furthermore, this research indicated that 61.3 % of the
respondents had not managed to find a stable income after return and that 16.8 % had only managed
to find temporary jobs. 98.3 % of the respondents indicated they were not attending school/
university.492 In comparison, the Nigeria living Standards Survey from 2018/2019 indicated that 29.3 %of the surveyed men and 35.6 % of the surveyed women from Edo had not partaken in labour activities
in the seven days prior to being interviewed.493

3.4.3 Family reunification
In view of the challenges associated with sustainable economic reintegration, NAPTIP and NGOs aim
to reunite trafficking victims with their families and integrate them in the socio-economic life of theircommunities.494 The process consists of family tracing, a risk assessment of returning victims to theirfamilies/communities, family counselling, provision of psychosocial/medical/legal services to victims
and their families, and the provision of security for victims’ families where necessary. Various NGOs
provide similar services.495 The director of one such organisations indicated counselling for sex
trafficking victims and their families was a priority for their organisation in view of facilitating victims’return to their home communities.496 NAPTIP reports do not provide insight in the number of victims
it has reunited with their families. As the previous EASO report indicated, an insistence on family
reunification comes with risks such as rejection or retrafficking of the victim.497 The research for thisreport did not identify robust evaluations of family reunification efforts in the Nigerian context. In a
recent study with minor Nigerian returnees from Libya (not necessarily victims of trafficking), ‘only
12.6% of respondents reported that their families had received any kind of support or mentorshipfrom the government or other organizations to prepare for their return’.498

491 Digidiki, V. and J. Bhabha/IOM, Returning Home: The reintegration challenges facing child and youth returnees from Libya

to Nigeria, 2019, url, pp. 33-34
492 Digidiki, V. and J. Bhabha/IOM, Returning Home: The reintegration challenges facing child and youth returnees from Libya
to Nigeria, 2019, url, pp. 28-29
493 Nigeria, National Bureau for Statistics, Nigeria Living Standards Survey 2018/2019, 2021, url, p. 51
494 Nigeria, NAPTIP, National Policy on Protection and Assistance to Trafficked Persons in Nigeria, 2008
495 Director Nigerian NGO, interview 10 November 2020; Okoli, N. and U. Idemudia, ‘Survivor’s Perceptions of Human
Trafficking Rehabilitation Programs in Nigeria: Empowerment or Disempowerment?’, 2020, url, p. 7
496 Director Nigerian NGO, interview 10 November 2020
497 EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information Report - Nigeria – Sex Trafficking of women, October 2015, url, p. 44
498 Digidiki, V. and J. Bhabha/IOM, Returning Home: The reintegration challenges facing child and youth returnees from Libya
to Nigeria, 2019, url, p. 27

58

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

4. Protection of returnees and prosecution of
perpetrators
This chapter discusses the situation of trafficking victims upon return in Nigeria from a security
perspective. It looks into the likelihood they themselves or their family members will be subjected toretaliation, the risk of retrafficking, attempts to prosecute traffickers by Nigerian law enforcement
agencies, and the protection of victims who collaborate with these efforts.

4.1 Retaliation
Female Nigerian victims of sex trafficking in Europe often express a strong fear to leave their madams,
cooperate with law authorities and/or to return to Nigeria before they have repaid their debts. Thissentiment is partly inspired by fear for the consequences of breaking the oath which binds them totheir traffickers (see Section 2.3)499, and the violent behaviour traffickers display on the way to and inEurope.500 As discussed before, traffickers use intimidation primarily to ensure that victims will repay
their debts and will not cooperate with law enforcement authorities. This section discusses to what
extent victims and their family members are subjected to reprisals when they leave their madams
and/or return to Nigeria without repaying their full debts.

4.1.1 Prevalence of reprisals against victims themselves
While the fear of reprisals is significant, insight into the actual prevalence and nature of reprisals
remains spotty, as was the case in 2015.501 Various sources identified a tendency on behalf oftraffickers to use more violence to guarantee the obedience of victims during this reporting period
because of the actions by the Oba of Benin, and the fact that it has become more difficult to transfer
women to Europe. Nevertheless, the various (anonymous) sources who were interviewed for thisreport provided conflicting accounts in relation to the actual occurrence of (violent) reprisals. Overall,
experts distinguished three categories of reprisals: threats and (mortal) violence against returnee
trafficking victims, threat and (mortal) violence against family members of victims who returned or
who remained in Europe, and the retrafficking of returnee victims.502 Sources’ views mostly divergedwith regard to the question to what extent victims themselves are at risk of being subjected to violence
upon return. Most did recognise that family members have become victims of threats and violence503,
and that women/girls have been retrafficked.504 Some sources, however, indicated that trafficking

499 De Correspondent, Vijfhonderd voodoo-priesters en een vloek laten zien: met magie kun je mensenhandel bestrijden Fivehundred voodoo priests and a curse show: magic can combat human trafficking], 26 September 2018, url; Guardian (The),
Escape: the woman who brought her trafficker to justice, 27 August 2020, url
500 Guardian (The), Escape: the woman who brought her trafficker to justice, 27 August 2020, url
501 EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information Report - Nigeria – Sex Trafficking of women, October 2015, url, p. 45
502 EASO analysis by drafter
503 Mossino, A., Director PIAM ONLUS, interview 5 October 2020; Director Nigerian NGO, interview 10 November 2020; EU
Member State Diplomat, interview 13 November 2020; Belgium, MYRIA, Jaarlijks Evaluatieverslag Mensenhandel 2019
[Annual Evaluation Report Human Trafficking 2019], 2020, url, pp. 55, 57
504 Mossino, A., Director PIAM ONLUS, interview 5 October 2020; Director Nigerian NGO, interview 10 November 2020
504 Guardian (The), Escape: the woman who brought her trafficker to justice, 27 August 2020, url

59

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

victims choose themselves to return to Europe505, in order to flee stigmatisation, pay off debts, earnmoney themselves506, and escape a general lack of economic opportunities in Nigeria.507

Traffickers’ attitude towards ‘disobedient’ victims
Various sources identified a toughening in the attitude of traffickers towards victims who failed to
repay their debts.508 An article in the Dutch newspaper De Correspondent ascribed this development
to the fact that Italian measures to stem migration from Libya have put under pressure Nigeriantraffickers’ ‘business model’, which was dependent on a continuous influx of new Nigerian sex
trafficking victims.509 Sources prior to 2015 stated that reprisals against trafficking victims, who
decided to escape, were rare, as it was easy for traffickers to replace them with a new victim.510
However, as this influx has been partly blocked, it has become more important for traffickers toascertain that the women who are already in Europe continue working to repay their debts according
to an article in international media. A nun who supports returnee trafficking victims in Benin City
mentioned that since 2018 she was witnessing, for the first time, traffickers using violence against
trafficking victims and their families in order to ensure that they would repay their debts.511 AnotherNGO representative from Edo State indicated the need to be aware of specific cases in which returnee
victims had been subjected to dead threats.512 The director of NAPTIP’s zonal command in Lagos
stated that:‘The traffickers are increasingly brutal. According to Atokolo, efforts to dispel juju superstition
among West Africans mean the madams in Europe now mainly resort to violence, instead of
the psychological pressure of spells, to control the young women forced into prostitution. […]That the secret societies active in Europe today, commonly referred to as the Nigerian mafia,"are no longer out to psychologically condition their victims with magic spells. They now use
sheer terror. There is a clear relationship between the decrease in juju spells and the stronger
presence of these gangs, who demand total obedience from their victims."’ 513
Other sources stated that Nigerian traffickers have always been violent and that violent reprisals
against trafficking victims have always existed.514 One of these sources indicated that contacts within
the Nigerian police force indicated that trafficking victims have been killed after their return toNigeria.515 However, these observations could not be supported by reports in the media or by linking
them to a specific time and date. At the same time, various sources indicated to almost never receive
reports about violent reprisals against returnee trafficking victims.516 A source indicated that

505 Director Nigerian NGO, interview 10 November 2020; Infomigrants, Nigerian returnees face poverty and destitution backhome, 2 February 2018, url
506 Director Nigerian NGO, interview 10 November 2020
507 Infomigrants, Nigerian returnees face poverty and destitution back home, 2 February 2018, url
508 Director Nigerian NGO, interview 10 November 2020; De Correspondent, Wie migratie écht wil begrijpen, moet naar deachterblijvers in Afrika kijken [Those who really want to understand migration, should look at those who are left behind in
Africa], 8 August 2018, url; DW, How the 'Nigerian mafia' exploits African women in Europe, 25 December 2019, url
509 De Correspondent, Wie migratie écht wil begrijpen, moet naar de achterblijvers in Afrika kijken [Those who really wantto understand migration, should look at those who are left behind in Africa], 8 August 2018, url
510 EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information Report - Nigeria – Sex Trafficking of women, October 2015, url, p. 46. Source:
Plambech, S., ‘Between ‘Victims’ and ‘Criminals”`, September 2014, p. 395
511 De Correspondent, Wie migratie écht wil begrijpen, moet naar de achterblijvers in Afrika kijken [Those who really wantto understand migration, should look at those who are left behind in Africa], 8 augustus 2018, url
512 Director Nigerian NGO, interview 10 November 2020
513 DW, How the 'Nigerian mafia' exploits African women in Europe, 25 December 2019, url
514 EU Member State Diplomat, interview 13 November 2020; Mossino, A., Director PIAM ONLUS, interview 5 October 2020
515 EU Member State Diplomat, interview 13 November 2020
516 Interview Nigerian magistrate, 9 October 2020; Nwoha, R., Representative Idia Renessaince, interview 19 November 2020;
Idahosa, R. Evon, Founder/Executive Director Pathfinders Justice Initiative, interview 24 February 2021

60

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

traffickers prefer not to attract the attention of Nigerian law enforcement and instead to send a new
victim to Europe517, as did some sources cited in the 2015 EASO report.518
Asked about the lack of reporting on specific cases of reprisals against trafficking victims (in Nigerian
media), sources indicated that local media do not report about these cases, because the experiencesof sex trafficking victims are not a newsworthy subject in the south of Nigeria,519 since it is such acommon phenomenon. One source indicated that there might be a reluctance to draw attention tothis topic, because many individuals in the south of Nigeria are involved in this business.520 A source,
who assists returnee victims of trafficking, indicated that many victims who have been threatened orexperienced violence are afraid to share their stories with third parties, including the media, out offear of experiencing more violence.521

4.1.2 Reprisals against family members
Most sources indicated that particularly victims’ family members were at risk of being subjected tothreats and reprisals by traffickers, especially when victims would still be in Europe but outside of thesphere of influence of their madams.522 Articles in international media cited specific cases. A lawyer
who represents trafficking victims in Italy told the Guardian that traffickers had attacked family
members of various people523, including an instance in which the mother of a victim had been killed.524
The director of an Italian shelter for trafficking victims indicated to be aware of two recent cases ofviolence against family members. In the first case traffickers killed a victim’s father. In the second casetraffickers burned down the parental house of the victim.525 A representative of a Nigerian antitrafficking NGO indicated that traffickers had killed the brother of a sex trafficking victim who was
based in Denmark.526 Another source was aware of a planned attack against a trafficking victim’s
family members which had been thwarted by Nigerian law enforcement.527 None of these incidents
were backed up by reporting in the media. Some sources indicated that cases of reprisals against
family members were relatively rare as well, because in many cases family members would be
involved in the trafficking scheme and/or would encourage their daughters to return to theirtraffickers.528

Threats via trafficking victims’ children
There have been indications that traffickers have started using victims’ children to put pressure onthem to repay debts. An article published by InfoMigrants identified the impregnation of Nigeriantrafficking victims in Libya by their Libyan and Nigerian guards with the aim to use threats of violence
to the children to control victims after their arrival in Italy.529 The researcher Rafaela Pascoal has also
517 Nigerian magistrate, interview 9 October 2020
518 EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information Report - Nigeria – Sex Trafficking of women, October 2015, url, p. 45. Source:

DIS, Protection of victims of trafficking in Nigeria, April 2008, pp. 23-28
519 Representative of international organisation A, interview 21 October 2020
520 EU Member State Diplomat, interview 13 November 2020
521 Director Nigerian NGO, interview 10 November 2020
522 Mossino, A., Director PIAM ONLUS, interview 5 October 2020; Director Nigerian NGO, interview 10 November 2020; EU
Member State Diplomat, interview 13 November 2020; Belgium, MYRIA, Jaarlijks Evaluatieverslag Mensenhandel 2019
[Annual Evaluation Report Human Trafficking 2019], 2020, url, pp. 55, 57
523 Guardian (The), Escape: the woman who brought her trafficker to justice, 27 August 2020, url
524 Guardian (The), Escape: the woman who brought her trafficker to justice, 27 August 2020, url
525 Mossino, A., Director PIAM ONLUS, interview 5 October 2020
526 Director Nigerian NGO, interview 10 November 2020 and email exchange 19 November 2020
527 Nigerian magistrate, interview 9 October 2020
528 Nigerian magistrate, interview 9 October 2020; EU Member State Diplomat, interview 13 November 2020. The Dutch
newspaper Trouw discussed such a case: Trouw, Benin City loopt leeg: waarom de vrouwenhandel van Afrika naar Europa
niet te stoppen is [Benin City is emptying: Why the trafficking of women from Africa to Europe cannot be stopped], 25 May
2018, url
529 InfoMigrants, Tricked, trafficked and sold: How criminal gangs are bringing Nigerian women to Italy, 25 January 2019, url

61

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

identified the traffickers’ use of victims’ motherhood to force them to obey orders.530 Nigeriantrafficking victims in Spain also reported fear of reprisals against their children.531 An anonymous
source indicated to be aware of a case where a trafficking victim’s child had been abducted in Nigeria
after she had escaped her madam.532

4.1.3 Reprisals against male returnees
Most male Nigerians are smuggled instead of trafficked to Europe, which means that they pay for thetravel in advance and are not in debt bondage to their smugglers. An expert posited that the risk ofreprisals against male Nigerian returnees therefore is negligible.533 Another source indicated to beaware of cases in which smugglers forced male migrants who got stuck in Libya to pay for the journeyfrom Libya to Europe even though they had not made the crossing.534

4.2 Retrafficking
Threats and violence against victims and their families usually serve the goal of forcing them to repay
the outstanding debt. As returnee victims or their families usually do not have the means to repay
these debts, traffickers sometimes try to retraffic victims to gain profits.535 Sources indicated that as
it has become more difficult to traffic victims to Europe, women have also been retrafficked toneighbouring countries or Libya.536 However, as was mentioned in the 2015 EASO report on sex
trafficking of Nigerian women, retrafficking does not always result from intimidation and force.537
Various sources indicated that financial hardship and shame incited trafficking victims to try to travel
to Europe again.538 Some trafficking victims who have repaid a significant share of their debt hope toreturn to Europe to start earning money on their own account as sex workers or madams.539

4.3 Prosecution of traffickers
NAPTIP coordinates, supervises and controls the criminal investigation of trafficking cases and theprosecution of traffickers.540 However, the conviction rate of traffickers has remained low since 2015
compared to the prevalence of the phenomenon in Nigeria.541 Moreover, convictions of high-ranking
individuals within Nigerian trafficking networks were virtually non-existent.542

530 Pascoal, R., How Nigerian human trafficking networks use motherhood to maintain and introduce their victims into

sexual exploitation, Journal of Trafficking, Organized Crime and Security, 2017, url, p. 25
531 Jorge, E., I. Antolínez and A. Alonso, The Construction of Silence: Narratives of Nigerian Women Crossing into Europe,
UNESCO Chair on Gender, Wellbeing and a Culture of Peace Working Paper Series, March 2020, url, p. 21
532 Mossino, A., Director PIAM ONLUS, interview 5 October 2020
533 Nigerian magistrate, interview 9 October 2020
534 Foreign journalist, interview 28 October 2020
535 Director Nigerian NGO, interview 10 November 2020; Mossino, A., Director PIAM ONLUS, interview 5 October 2020; De
Correspondent, Wie migratie écht wil begrijpen, moet naar de achterblijvers in Afrika kijken [Those who really want tounderstand migration, should look at those who are left behind in Africa], 8 August 2018, url; Human Rights Watch, “You
Pray for Death”: Trafficking of Women and Girls in Nigeria, 2019, url, p. 47
536 Foreign journalist, interview 28 October 2020; EU Member State Diplomat, interview 13 November 2020; New
Humanitarian (The), Nigerians returned from Europe face stigma and growing hardship, 28 July 2020, url
537 EASO, EASO Country of Origin Information Report - Nigeria – Sex Trafficking of women, October 2015, url, p. 47
538 Nwoha, R., representative Idia Renaissance, interview 19 November 2020; Nigerian magistrate, interview 9 October 2020
539 Nwoha, R., representative Idia Renaissance, interview 19 November 2020; Washington Post (The), Nigerians return fromslavery in Libya to thriving sex-trafficking industry back home, 23 January 2018. url
540 Nigeria, Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Law Enforcement and Administration Act, 2003, Article 5(m), url
541 US, USDOS, Trafficking in Persons Report 2020: Nigeria, 25 June 2020, url, pp. 378-379; Premium Times, ANALYSIS: Despite
successes, NAPTIP investigates, prosecutes only few reported trafficking cases, 2 October 2019, url
542 Representative of international organisation A, interview 21 October 202062

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

4.3.1 Convictions of traffickers
The table below summarises NAPTIP’s record in the realm of the prosecution of traffickers between
2017 and 2019: 543
Victims
rescuedCases fully
investigatedCases
brought tocourt

Cases won/
lost

Number ofindividuals
convicted

2017

1890

148

70

21/?

26

2018

1173

206

75

31/1

50

2019

1152

203

?

18/?

25

Table 4: NAPTIP prosecution of traffickers544

In 2019, 20 % of the 701 individuals arrested by NAPTIP were suspected of being involved with humantrafficking abroad.545 For example, USDOS found that ‘in an improvement from prior reporting periods,
the government prosecuted and convicted three mid-level and senior-level officials for trafficking
offenses.’546 In November 2020, a Nigerian court convicted three female traffickers for the sexual
exploitation of a Nigerian woman in Russia, imposing prison sentences of ten to fourteen years.
According to NAPTIP’s director this was one of the rare examples of Nigerian traffickers receiving longterm prison sentences.547

4.3.2 Reasons behind the rarity of convictions
Several sources identified victims’ unwillingness to cooperate with law enforcement authorities andtestify against their traffickers as the core reason for the low level of prosecutions of humantraffickers.548 Fear for the consequences of breaking a juju oath and fear for other types of reprisals
were considered to be at the root of this lack of willingness on victims’ behalf.549 With regard to therecent developments around the use of juju by human traffickers (see Section 2.3.2), research from2020 indicated that also in the wake of the Oba’s curse victims remain reluctant to cooperate withprosecutors, which suggests that other factors than the oath, determine victims’ willingness tocooperate with law enforcement authorities (more in Section 2.3).550 Nigeria does not have a wellfunctioning witness protection programme, meaning that if victims decide to cooperate withprosecutors, they do not have a strong guarantee that the authorities will protect them and theirfamilies against reprisals (for more details, see next paragraph).551 Victims also fear further
stigmatisation by their families/communities in case they open up about their experiences in
Europe.552 Furthermore, the involvement of family members in the trafficking impedes victims fromtestifying.553 In this regard, a representative of the Judiciary of Edo State was cited remarking during
543 Nigeria, NAPTIP, 2017 Data Analysis, 2018. url; Nigeria, NAPTIP, 2018 4th Quarter Report, 2018, url, pp. 2-6; Nigeria,

NAPTIP, 2019 Data Analysis, 2019, url, pp. 2-8
544 Nigeria, NAPTIP, 2017 Data Analysis, 2018. url; Nigeria, NAPTIP, 2018 4th Quarter Report, 2018, url, pp. 2-6; Nigeria,
NAPTIP, 2019 Data Analysis, 2019, url, pp. 2-8
545 Nigeria, NAPTIP, 2019 Data Analysis, 2019, url, p. 4
546 US, USDOS, Trafficking in Persons Report 2020: Nigeria, 25 June 2020, url, p. 379
547 Reuters, Nigeria convicts family of sex traffickers with rare jail sentence, 17 November 2020, url
548 Representative of international organisation A, 21 October 2020; Director Nigerian NGO, interview 10 November 2020
549 Director Nigerian NGO, interview 10 November 2020
550 International organisation A, confidential report December 2020, p. 59
551 Director Nigerian NGO, interview 10 November 2020; Representative of international organisation A, 21 October 2020;
Mossino, A., Director PIAM ONLUS, interview 5 October 2020
552 Foreign journalist, interview 28 October 2020
553 OHCHR, End of visit statement, Nigeria (3-10 September) by Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, UN Special Rapporteur on
Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, 10 September 2018, url; Representative of international organisation

63

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

a stakeholder event on trafficking ‘that the lack of safehouses has led to lower convictions (particularly
for cases prosecuted by the Edo State Task Force), as victims must return to their homes, often theplace that pressured them into trafficking’.554
One source indicated that victims also are reluctant to testify because they consider themselves(failed) migrants instead of trafficking victims.555
Corruption also figures as an important reason for the lack of convictions of traffickers.556 The UN
Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children indicated that: ‘In the
narratives of victims and survivors, the role of corrupted law enforcement officers has often beenhighlighted. A special attention should be paid by investigative authorities on possible involvement or
collusion of public officials with trafficking rings.’
The source added:‘The main challenges identified by civil society organisations relate to corruption, lack ofconfidence in the judicial system, lack of training and specialised knowledge on trafficking inpersons among law enforcement officials, police departments, judges and prosecutors, poor
capacity in targeting high-level perpetrators and lengthy of judicial proceedings leading todelayed, and hence, denied, justice.’557
Similarly, USDOS found that while the Nigerian government collaborated with foreign governments
on anti-trafficking cases, ‘international partners reported corruption and capacity issues at times
hindered cooperation.’558
Other/related causes for NAPTIP’s issues at the level of prosecution are the lack of coordination
between prosecutors and the police, a lack of capacity within NAPTIP and the slow pace of cases in
Nigerian courts.559 In this regard, it should be noted that Nigerian law enforcement generally fails to
respond adequately to cases of gender-based violence.560 The justice system does not adequately
respond to the legal needs of Nigerians, particularly poor women:‘Women, poor people and internally displaced persons (IDPs) face particularly serious
challenges on their paths to justice. People at the cross-sections of vulnerability, such as poorand rural women, are particularly disadvantaged. On average, poor women in Nigeria are theleast likely to achieve resolution of their legal problems. Their problems are close to home.
They relate to neighbours and family members. Women have little confidence that they canreceive justice when they need it. They are afraid to aggravate relationships characterized bydependency.’561

A, interview 21 October 2020; Washington Post (The), Nigerians return from slavery in Libya to thriving sex-trafficking
industry back home, 23 January 2018, url
554 Insight - Building Capacity to Deal with Human Trafficking and Transit Routes in Nigeria, Italy, June 10-11, 2019, url, p. ix
555 For an in-depth discussion of this phenomenon, see: Plambech, S., ‘God brought you home – deportation as moral
governance in the lives of Nigerian sex worker migrants’, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 2017556 Premium Times, ANALYSIS: Despite successes, NAPTIP investigates, prosecutes only few reported trafficking cases, 2
October 2019, url
557 OHCHR, End of visit statement, Nigeria (3-10 September) by Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, UN Special Rapporteur on
Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, 10 September 2018, url
558 US, USDOS, Trafficking in Persons Report 2020: Nigeria, 25 June 2020, url, p. 379
559 OHCHR, End of visit statement, Nigeria (3-10 September) by Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, UN Special Rapporteur on
Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, 10 September 2018, url; Representative of international organisation
A, interview 21 October 2020
560 Canada, IRBC, Nigeria: Domestic violence, including legislation; protection and support services offered to victims (2016November 2019), 14 Novembecr 2019, url
561 HiiL, Justice Needs and Satisfaction in Nigeria 2018, 2018, url, p. 20

64

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

Moreover, in general Nigeria experiences high levels of corruption also in comparison to other Sub-SaharanAfrican states.562

4.4 Witness protection
As mentioned, Nigeria lacks an effective witness protection programme for those who are willing totestify against their traffickers. NAPTIP provides (closed) shelter for a prolonged period to thosevictims who want to cooperate with law enforcement. However, a report by an internationalorganisation indicated that this approach is not sufficient as this does not protect victims’ family
members against potential acts of violence, and neither provides protection to victims once they leave
the shelter.563 Sources considered that victims in NGO shelters are not well protected against
traffickers. Reports emerged of traffickers who tried to look for returnee victims in NGO shelters orleft letters/messages to intimidate victims.564 A source indicated that NGO shelters can be easily
identified by traffickers.565 Some NGOs propose trafficking victims to relocate themselves to adifferent region of the country. This allows victims to escape the negative influence of family members
and traffickers alike.566 When women leave shelters, NAPTIP does not have sufficient capacity toprovide protection. Cooperation with local police is a possibility in theory, but occurs very rarely inpractice according to a report by an international organisation in Nigeria.567
Nigeria-based family members of Nigerian trafficking victims who are still in Europe neither haveaccess to sufficient protection, according to an Italian lawyer interviewed by the Guardian:‘Under an agreement between Italy and Nigeria, Italian police forces may alert Nigerianauthorities so that they can protect survivors’ relatives once a complaint has been filed, but
this measure has proven ineffective. De Masi says that whenever she has made a request to
protect a woman’s family, the Nigerian authority responsible for fighting human trafficking
has failed to respond.’568

562 UNODC, Corruption in Nigeria: Patterns And Trends - Second survey on corruption as experienced by the population,

December 2019; EU Member State Diplomat, interview 13 November 2020; Transparency International and Afrobarometer,
Global Corruption Barometer Africa 2019 Citizens’ Views and Experiences of Corruption, 2019, url, p. 14
563 International organisation A, confidential report 2020, p. 68
564 Trouw, Benin City loopt leeg: waarom de vrouwenhandel van Afrika naar Europa niet te stoppen is [Benin City is emptying:
Why the trafficking of women from Africa to Europe cannot be stopped], 25 May 2018, url; Foreign journalist, interview 28
October 2020
565 Foreign journalist, interview 28 October 2020
566 Director Nigerian NGO, interview 10 November 2020
567 International organisation A, confidential report 2020, p. 65
568 Guardian (The), Escape: the woman who brought her trafficker to justice, 27 August 2020, url

65Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

Annex 1: Bibliography
Oral and anonymous sources
Experts:
•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

Alpes, Jill, online interview 7 December 2020. Dr Alpes is Senior Researcher Human Rights
Centre at Ghent University. Jill Alpes is a legal anthropologist who has conducted researchon migration, asylum and deportation from a development and protection perspective invarious West African countries, including Nigeria.
Heeringa, Annemarie, online interview 19 November 2020. Ms Heeringa is Team Leader
Perspectives on Rights, Salvation Army, the Netherlands. The Perspectives on Rights
programme provides socio-legal support to undocumented migrants in the Netherlands,
including Nigerian trafficking victims. For more information about the Salvation Army’s
activities on human trafficking in the Netherlands, see: url [Dutch]
Idahosa, R. Evon, online interview 24 February 2021. Ms Idahosa is the Founder/Executive
Director Pathfinders Justice Initiative, Nigeria. Pathfinders Justice Initiative is Pathfinders
Justice Initiative is an international impact organisation dedicated to the prevention of sex
slavery/sexual violence and the liberation of enslaved women and girls through the direct
eradication of root causes. Pathfinders Justice Initiative works in Nigeria and with Nigerian
survivors globally to build a best practices model for the world. For more information about
Pathfinders Justice Initiative’s activities, see: url
Mossino, Alberto, online interview 5 October 2020. Mr Mossino is the Director of PIAM
ONLUS, Italy. PIAM ONLUS is a secular association based in Asti, composed of Italian andimmigrant social operators. Since 2000, its activities have focused on the social integrationof women victims of trafficking and on immigration issues. For more information about
PIAM ONLUS’ activities, see: url
Nwoha, Roland, online interview 19 November 2020. Mr Nwoha is a representative of Idia
Renaissance, a Nigerian NGO based in Benin City which provides reintegration support toreturnees from Europe and other countries, including victims of trafficking. For more
information about Idia Renaissance’s activities, see: url
Peano, Irene, email exchange 27 February 2021. Dr Peano is a Post-Doctoral Researcher at
the Instituto de Ciências sociais at the University of Lisbon. Dr Peano is an anthropologist
who has been exploring the labour exploitation of migrants, with a focus on sex work andagricultural work through fieldwork in Nigeria, Italy and Romania.
Plambech, Sine, online interview 1 March 2021. Dr Plambech is a Senior Researcher at theDanish Institute for International Studies. Dr Plambech's research focuses on internationalmigration, human trafficking, smuggling, border politics, refugees, women's migration,
sexual violence, deportations, sex work, marriage migration, documentary film, and visual
anthropology. Sine Plambech conducts fieldwork in migrant and border communities in
Nigeria, Thailand, Italy and Denmark.
Shaidrova, Maria, online interview 24 February 2021. Ms Shaidrova is a PhD Candidate at
Tilburg University. Ms Shaidrova is a migration sociologist whose research focuses on issuesof labour and sexual exploitation amongst Nigerian migrants in Europe. She has conducted
fieldwork in Nigeria and Italy.

Experts who wish to remain anonymous for security reasons:•

Director Nigerian NGO, online interview 10 November 2020. The NGO supports returnees,
including victims of trafficking, in Edo State.

66

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Foreign journalist, based in Nigeria, online interview 28 October 2020. The journalist has
expertise on international migration.
Nigerian magistrate, online interview 9 October 2020. The magistrate has expertise on
human trafficking cases.
Representative international humanitarian organisation, based in north-east Nigeria, online
interview 26 October 2020. The organisation works to prevent GBV and provides support tovictims of GBV in IDP camps in north-east Nigeria.
European Member State diplomat, based in Abuja, online interview 13 November 2020.
European diplomat, based in Abuja, email exchange 11 February 2021.
Representative of international organisation A, based in Nigeria, online interview
21 October 2020.
Representative of international organisation B, based in Nigeria, written responses
1 December 2020.
Representative of international organisation C, based in Nigeria, online interview
12 November 2020.

Confidential reports:• International organisation A, confidential report December 2020.
• European organisation, confidential report December 2020.
• Unpublished UNICEF assessment, 30 June 2020.

Public sources
4Mi, Hidden Figures Women on the Move in Libya, September 2017,https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Hidden figures_Women on the move in
Libya.pdf, accessed 25 February 2021
4Mi, Invisible Labour Women’s labour migration to Libya., December 2017,https://mixedmigration.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/028_invisible-labour.pdf, accessed 25
February 2021
ABC News, In a ruined city on the Italian coast, the Nigerian mafia is muscling in on the old mob, 16
March 2020, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-17/castel-volturno-is-headquarters-fornigerian-mafia-in-italy/12033684, accessed 22 February 2021
Africa.com, Social Enterprise Shines Light On Nigeria’s Street Kids In Dark Days Of Pandemic, May
2020, https://africa.com/social-enterprise-shines-light-on-nigerias-street-kids-in-dark-days-ofpandemic/, accessed 21 February 2021.
Akinyele, R.T., Lagos is our land: indigeneship associations and the protection of the rights ofLagosians since 1950, Lagos Historical Review, 2016,
https://www.ajol.info/index.php/lhr/article/view/140755, accessed 23 March 2021
Al Jazeera, A traditional Nigerian leader took on traffickers. Has it helped?, 4 July 2018,https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2018/7/4/a-traditional-nigerian-leader-took-on-traffickershas-it-helped, accessed 22 February 2021
Al Jazeera, African footballers stranded around the world with crushed dreams, 26 August 2019,https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2019/8/26/african-footballers-stranded-around-the-worldwith-crushed-dreams, accessed 22 February 2021
Al Jazeera, Survivors of Nigeria’s ‘baby factories’ share their stories, 3 May 2020,
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2020/5/3/survivors-of-nigerias-baby-factories-share-theirstories, accessed 22 February 2021

67

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

Alpes, M.J. and I. Majcher, Who Can Be Sustainably Reintegrated After Return? Using post-return
monitoring for rights-based return policies, 2020,
https://cris.unu.edu/sites/cris.unu.edu/files/PB20.3 - Jill Alpes and Izabella Majcher.pdf, accessed 26
February 2021
Aluko, Y. and T. Olanipekun, Menace of Street Begging among Children in Urban centers: Activities,
Survival and Coping Strategies, 2019,https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338779187_The_Menace_of_Street_Begging_among_Ch
ildren_in_Urban_centers_Activities_Survival_and_Coping_Strategies, accessed 10 February 2021
Ansa (via Infomigrants), 'African mafias work together in Italy,' national prosecutor says, 29
November 2019, https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/21209/african-mafias-work-together-initaly-national-prosecutor-says, accessed 23 February 2021
Anti-Slavery International, Shackled to the past: An exploration of the best prospects for combatting
forced child begging in Nigeria, November 2020, https://www.antislavery.org/wpcontent/uploads/2020/12/Shackled-to-the-past-Nigeria-FCB-report-Web-version.pdf, accessed 22
February 2021
Apard, E., P. Diagboya & V. Simoni, «La prostitution, ça ne tue pas !» Projets d’ascension sociale
familiale dans le contexte de la traite sexuelle (Nigeria-Europe), 2020, https://www.cairn.info/revuepolitique-africaine-2020-3-page-51.htm [Paywall], accessed 15 February 2021
Argos, Honderden Nigerianen verdwenen uit asielopvang [Hundreds of Nigerians disappeared fromasylum centres], 5 June 2020, https://www.vpro.nl/argos/lees/onderwerpen/lost-ineurope/2020/honderden-nigerianen-verdwenen-uit-asielopvang.html, accessed 22 February 2021
Australia, DFAT (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade), DFAT Country Information Report
Nigeria, December 2020, https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/dfat-country-informationreport-nigeria-3-december-2020.pdf, accessed 22 March 2021
Azu, E., A Report of Gender Audit of Protection Services and shelters in Lagos State for Preventing
Forced Migration and Trafficking of Women and Girls’ in Nigeria, September 2020. [Unpublished]
Basil Ofili, I., Gender Audit Report: Assessment of Protection Services & Shelters for Trafficked
Victims and Returnees in Edo State, September 2020. [Unpublished]
BBC, Coronavirus in Nigeria: The child beggars at the heart of the outbreak, 16 May 2020,
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-52617551, accessed 15 February 2021
BBC, I sold all I had to go to Europe - now I'm home, and broke, 7 May 2018,https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-44007932, accessed 24 February 2021
BBC, 'I thought I was going to die': Jailed and ransomed in Libya, 21 June 2017,https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-40353265, accessed 23 February 2021
BBC, Migrant crisis: Illegal entries to EU at lowest level in five years, 4 January 2019,https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46764500, accessed 22 February 2021
BBC, Spanish police break up Nigerian sex trafficking gang, 23 March 2018,https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-43514125, accessed 20 February 2021
BBC, The Nigerians standing up to sex-work traffickers in Sicily, 12 November 2020,
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-54903790, accessed 18 February 2021
BBC, Trafficked Nigerian women rescued from Lebanon, 26 May 2020,
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-52805193, accessed 19 February 2021
Belgium, MYRIA (Le Centre fédéral Migration), Jaarlijks Evaluatieverslag Mensenhandel 2019 [Annual
Evaluation Report Human trafficking 2019], 2020,68

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

https://www.myria.be/files/MYRIA_Jaarlijks_evaluatierapport_2020_Mensenhandel_en_mensensm
okkel-2.2.pdf, accessed 27 February 2021
Canada, IRBC (Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada), Nigeria: Domestic violence, including
legislation; protection and support services offered to victims (2016-November 2019), 14 November
2019, https://irb-cisr.gc.ca/en/country-information/rir/Pages/index.aspx?doc=457956&pls=1,
accessed 3 February 2021
CLEEN Foundation & Pathfinders Justice Initiative, Pathway to Prevention: A Research Report on
Recruiters of Sex Trafficking in Oredo LGA, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria, 2020,
https://pathfindersji.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/pathway-to-prevention-complete-Final.pdf,
accessed 12 February 2021
Clingendael, Caught in the middle: A human rights and peace-building approach to migration
governance in the Sahel, December 2018, https://www.clingendael.org/sites/default/files/201812/caught-in-the-middle_0.pdf, accessed 15 February 2021
CNN, 19 pregnant teens and women rescued from suspected baby traffickers in Nigeria, police say,
30 September 2019, https://edition.cnn.com/2019/09/30/africa/nigeria-police-rescue-pregnantwomen-from-traffickers/index.html, accessed 12 February 2021
CNN, 20,000 Nigerian girls sold to prostitution ring, trafficking agency says, 22 January 2019,https://edition.cnn.com/2019/01/22/africa/nigeria-mali-human-trafficking/index.html, accessed 12
February 2021
CNN, The sex trafficking trail from Nigeria to Europe, 21 March 2018,https://edition.cnn.com/2017/12/04/africa/nigeria-benin-city-sex-trafficking/index.html, accessed
12 February 2021
Cohen, C., Development of the Brazilian Drug Market Toward Africa: Myths, Evidence andTheoretical Questions, Journal of Illicit Economies and Development, 2019,https://jied.lse.ac.uk/articles/10.31389/jied.27/, accessed 18 March 2021, accessed 21 March 2021
Conversation (The), How strong family ties play a role in sex trafficking in Nigeria, 12 February 2017,https://theconversation.com/how-strong-family-ties-play-a-role-in-sex-trafficking-in-nigeria-70852,
accessed 15 February 2021
Correspondent (The), What happens to migrants who are sent back? I spent a year following 12
people to find out, 9 January 2020, https://thecorrespondent.com/213/what-happens-to-migrantswho-are-sent-back-i-spent-a-year-following-12-people-to-find-out/28168874481-35612b42,
accessed 19 February 2021
De Correspondent, Wie migratie écht wil begrijpen, moet naar de achterblijvers in Afrika kijken[Those who really want to understand migration, should look at those who are left behind in Africa],
8 August 2018, https://decorrespondent.nl/8570/wie-migratie-echt-wil-begrijpen-moet-naar-deachterblijvers-in-afrika-kijken/373403470-582658b5, accessed 17 February 2021
De Correspondent, Zo ziet het leven van 12 teruggekeerde migranten in Nigeria eruit(gefotografeerd door hen zelf) [This is what the life of twelve returnees in Nigeria looks like(photographed by themselves)], 29 August 2019, https://decorrespondent.nl/10419/zo-ziet-hetleven-van-12-teruggekeerde-migranten-in-nigeria-eruit-gefotografeerd-door-hen-zelf/453966249acf3508e, accessed 18 February 2021
De Correspondent, Dit is grensbewaking anno 2018: creëer onderweg een hel, zodat migranten
massaal terug naar huis willen [This is border control in 2018: create hell on the way, so that
migrants want to return home en masse], 21 August 2018, https://decorrespondent.nl/8598/dit-isgrensbewaking-anno-2018-creeer-onderweg-een-hel-zodat-migranten-massaal-terug-naar-huiswillen/374623458-aa6dda85, accessed 18 February 2021
69

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

De Correspondent, Europese hulp voor terugkerende migranten wérkt (maar is ook een prikkel om
de oversteek te wagen) [European support for returnees is effective (but also encourages migrants
to cross)], 19 October 2018, https://decorrespondent.nl/8794/europese-hulp-voor-terugkerendemigranten-werkt-maar-is-ook-een-prikkel-om-de-oversteek-te-wagen/383163374-b3eb5df9,
accessed 18 February 2021
De Correspondent, Maak kennis met de mensen achter de ‘migratiestroom’. Deze vrouw overleefde
12 jaar als illegale seksslaaf [Meet the people behind the ‘migration influx’. This woman survived
twelve years as an illegal sex slave], 13 April 2019, https://decorrespondent.nl/9384/maak-kennismet-de-mensen-achter-de-migratiestroom-deze-vrouw-overleefde-12-jaar-als-illegaleseksslaaf/408870264-30b058a5, accessed 12 February 2021
De Correspondent, Vijfhonderd voodoo-priesters en een vloek laten zien: met magie kun je
mensenhandel bestrijden [Five hundred voodoo priests and a curse show: magic can combat humantrafficking], 26 September 2018, https://decorrespondent.nl/8707/vijfhonderd-voodoo-priesters-eneen-vloek-laten-zien-met-magie-kun-je-mensenhandel-bestrijden/379372697-1bb10e2c, accessed
12 February 2021
DW (Deutsche Welle), How the 'Nigerian mafia' exploits African women in Europe, 25 December
2019, https://www.dw.com/en/how-the-nigerian-mafia-exploits-african-women-in-europe/a51696034, accessed 23 February 2021
DW (Deutsche Welle), Nigerian returnees face poverty and destitution back home, 2 February 2018,https://www.dw.com/en/nigerian-returnees-face-poverty-and-destitution-back-home/a-42431011,
accessed 24 February 2021
DW (Deutsche Welle), The New Ways of Nigeria’s Human Traffickers, 3 October 2017,https://www.dw.com/en/the-new-ways-of-nigerias-human-traffickers/a-41167914, accessed 25
February 2021
Digidiki, V. and J. Bhabha/ IOM (International Organization for Migration), Returning Home: The
reintegration challenges facing child and youth returnees from Libya to Nigeria, 2019,https://cdn1.sph.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2464/2019/11/Harvard-FXB-CenterReturning-Home-FINAL.pdf, accessed 25 February 2021
EASO (European Asylum Support Office), Country of Origin Information Report: Nigeria Country
Focus, June 2017, https://www.easo.europa.eu/sites/default/files/publications/EASO-CountryFocus-Nigeria-June2017.pdf, accessed 5 February 2021
EASO (European Asylum Support Office), EASO Asylum Report 2020: Annual Report on the Situationof Asylum in the European Union, 2020, https://easo.europa.eu/sites/default/files/EASO-AsylumReport-2020.pdf, accessed 22 February 2021
EASO (European Asylum Support Office), EASO Country of Origin Information (COI) Report
Methodology, June 2019,https://coi.easo.europa.eu/administration/easo/PLib/2019_EASO_COI_Report_Methodology.pdf,
accessed 20 February 2021
EASO (European Asylum Support Office), EASO Country of Origin Information (COI) Report Nigeria
Targeting of individuals, November 2018,https://coi.easo.europa.eu/administration/easo/PLib/2018_EASO_COI_Nigeria_TargetingIndividuals.pdf, accessed 15 February 2021
EASO (European Asylum Support Office), EASO Country of Origin Information (COI) Report - Nigeria –Sex Trafficking of women, October 2015,
https://www.easo.europa.eu/sites/default/files/public/BZ0415678ENN.pdf, accessed 15 February
2021

70

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

EASO (European Asylum Support Office), Writing and Referencing Guide for EASO Country of Origin
Information (COI) Reports, June 2019,https://coi.easo.europa.eu/administration/easo/PLib/2019_EASO_COI_Writing_and_Referencing_G
uide.pdf, accessed 2 February 2021
ECPAT (End child prostitution, child pornography and trafficking of children for sexual purposes),
Religious, Social and Criminal Groups in Trafficking of Nigerian Girls and Women, March 2019,https://ecpat-france.fr/www.ecpat-france/wpcontent/uploads/2019/04/WEB_rapport_nigeria_ENG.pdf, accessed 15 February 2021
ERRIN (European Return and Reintegration Network), About ERRIN, n.d.,
https://returnnetwork.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/ERRIN-Country-Leaflet_Nigeria-v.6.pdf,
accessed 22 March 2021
ERRIN (European Return and Reintegration Network), ERRIN Reintegration Programme for Returning
Migrants: Nigeria, n.d., https://returnnetwork.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/ERRIN-CountryLeaflet_Nigeria-v.6.pdf, accessed 22 March 2021
ERRIN (European Return and Reintegration Network), What we do: Joint reintegration programmes,
n.d., https://returnnetwork.eu/what-we-do-joint-reintegration-programmes/, accessed 22 March
2021
Esposito, F. et al, Voices from the Inside: Lived Experiences of Women Confined in a Detention
Center, Signs, 2019, https://borderlandscapes.law.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2019-11/Esposito et
al_2019_Signs.pdf [Paywall], accessed 18 February 2021
Euractiv, Money from Europe a lifeline for Nigerian families, 15 June 2017,https://www.euractiv.com/section/languages-culture/news/money-from-europe-a-lifeline-fornigerian-families/, accessed 16 March 2021
Eurojust, More than 200 arrests after drug trafficking network is dismantled with Eurojust support, 3
December 2020, https://www.eurojust.europa.eu/more-200-arrests-after-drug-trafficking-networkdismantled-eurojust-support, accessed 16 March 2021
EuroNews, Abused in Libya and forced into prostitution back home: the nightmare of trying to reach
Europe, 21 June 2020, https://www.euronews.com/2020/06/21/abused-in-libya-and-forced-intoprostitution-back-home-the-nightmare-of-trying-to-reach-eu, accessed 17 February 2021
European Commission, Data collection on trafficking in human beings in the EU, 2020,
https://ec.europa.eu/antitrafficking/sites/default/files/study_on_data_collection_on_trafficking_in_human_beings_in_the_eu.pdf, accessed 20 February 2021
European Migrant Smuggling Centre, 4th Annual Report, 2020,
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ah
UKEwiRt2docbvAhVKNuwKHTYHAdAQFjAAegQIBBAD&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.europol.europa.eu%2Fpub
lications-documents%2Femsc-4th-annual-activity-report-%25E2%2580%25932020&usg=AOvVaw2DGPz-DL_3iKkGM4UOi4e6, accessed 20 February 2021
European Union & International Organization for Migration, Biannual Reintegration Report #3, July
2020, https://migrationjointinitiative.org/sites/default/files/files/pdf/reintegration-report-3.pdf,
accessed 22 February 2021
European Union & International Organization for Migration, Biannual Reintegration Report #1,
March 2019, https://migrationjointinitiative.org/sites/default/files/files/pdf/reintegration-report-1march-2019_0.pdf, accessed 22 February 2021

71

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

European Union & International Organization for Migration, Geographic Coverage (Nigeria), n.d.,
https://migrationjointinitiative.org/, accessed 21 January 2021
European University Institute, Report on Citizenship Law: Nigeria, July 2020,
https://cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/1814/67855/RSCAS_2020_12.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y, accessed 15 February 2021
Europol, Situation Report: Criminal Networks Involved in the Trafficking and Exploitation ofUnderage Victims in the European Union, October 2018,https://www.europol.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/23-11_report_child_trafficking.pdf,
accessed 20 February 2021
Eurostat, Asylum and first time asylum applicants by citizenship, age and sex - annual aggregateddata (rounded), Last updated 18 March 2021,
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/MIGR_ASYAPPCTZA__custom_579928/default/ta
ble?lang=en, accessed 28 March 2021
Eurostat, Third-country nationals who have left the territory to a third country by destination
country and citizenship, last updated 8 February 2021,
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/MIGR_EIRT_DES__custom_551612/bookmark/table?lang=en&bookmarkId=28c2a638-8850-431b-8bf8-2b23a982d5f3, accessed 25 February 2021
Foreign Policy, The U.N. Is Leaving Migrants to Die in Libya, 10 October 2019,https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/10/libya-migrants-un-iom-refugees-die-detention-center-civilwar/, accessed 16 March 2021
Fourchard, L., Bureaucrats and Indigenes: Producing and Bypassing Certificates of Origin in Nigeria,
Africa, 2015,
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318284285_Bureaucrats_and_indigenes_producing_and_bypassing_certificates_of_origins_in_Nigeria_Africa_85_1_2015_pp_36-57, accessed 25 March
2021
France Inter, Kate, survivante de la traite nigériane : "Je suis fière d’être debout aujourd’hui pourraconter tout ça", 1 July 2020, https://www.franceinter.fr/kate-survivante-de-la-traite-nigeriane-jesuis-fiere-d-etre-debout-aujourd-hui-pour-raconter-tout-ca, accessed 15 February 2021
France, Office Français de l'Immigration et de l'Intégration, Retour Volontaire, n.d.,
http://www.retourvolontaire.fr/?lang=2, accessed 22 March 2021
France24, Nigerian women struggle to raise children born of Libya rape, 1 August 2019,https://www.france24.com/en/20190801-nigerian-women-struggle-raise-children-born-libya-rape,
accessed 23 February 2021
Frontex, FLASH REPORT – Irregular migration into EU at lowest level since 2013, 8 January 2020,
https://frontex.europa.eu/media-centre/news/news-release/flash-report-irregular-migration-intoeu-at-lowest-level-since-2013-n5pHiA, accessed 16 February 2021
Frontex, Risk analysis 2018, 2018,https://frontex.europa.eu/assets/Publications/Risk_Analysis/Risk_Analysis/Risk_Analysis_for_2018.
pdf, accessed 21 February 2021
Frontex, Risk Analysis for 2020, 2020,
https://frontex.europa.eu/assets/Publications/Risk_Analysis/Risk_Analysis/Annual_Risk_Analysis_20
20.pdf, accessed 21 February 2021
Germany, BAMF (Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge) & IOM (International Organization for
Migration), REAG/GARP, n.d., https://www.returningfromgermany.de/en/programmes, accessed 22
March 2021

72

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

Grotti, V., C. Malakasis, C. Quagliariello and N. Sahraoui, Shifting vulnerabilities: gender andreproductive care on the migrant trail to Europe, Comparative Migration Studies, 2018,https://comparativemigrationstudies.springeropen.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s40878-018-0089-z.pdf,
accessed 18 February 2021
Guardian (The), ‘Migrants are more profitable than drugs’: how the mafia infiltrated Italy’s asylum
system, 1 February 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/feb/01/migrants-moreprofitable-than-drugs-how-mafia-infiltrated-italy-asylum-system, accessed 25 March 2021
Guardian (The), Escape: the woman who brought her trafficker to justice, 27 August 2020,
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/27/nigeria-italy-human-trafficking-sex-workersexploitation-justice, accessed 18 February 2021
Guardian (The), 'I had no choice': the desperate Nigerian women who sell their babies, 6 May 2020,
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/may/06/i-had-no-choice-the-desperatenigerian-women-who-sell-their-babies, accessed 10 February 2021
Harper Magazine, The Black Axe, September 2019, https://harpers.org/archive/2019/09/the-blackaxe-nigeria-neo-black-movement-africa/, accessed 22 February 2021
Herzwerk, Best practices in tackling trafficking Nigerian Route (BINIs): National Report Austria, 2018,https://www.herzwerk-wien.at/site/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/BINI_Bericht_2.pdf, accessed 22
February 2021
HiiL (The Hague Humanity Hub), Justice Needs and Satisfaction in Nigeria 2018, 2018,https://www.hiil.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/HiiL-Nigeria-JNS-report-web.pdf, accessed 15
February 2021
Human Rights Watch, “You Pray for Death”: Trafficking of Women and Girls in Nigeria, 2019,https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/nigeria0819.pdf, accessed 25 March 2021
IFRA (Institut français de recherche en Afrique), Oath Taking in Edo: Usages and Misappropriationsof the Native Justice System, 2 March 2019, https://ifra-nigeria.org/publications/e-papers/279-2019oath-taking-in-edo-usages-and-misappropriations-of-the-native-justice-system, accessed 18 March
2021
IFRA (Institut français de recherche en Afrique), United We (Net)work: An Online and Offline Analysis
of Nigerian Women’s Clubs, 2 March 2019, IFRA Nigeria - United we (net)work an online and offline
analysis of Nigerian Women’s Clubs (2019) (ifra-nigeria.org), accessed 24 February 2021
Infomigrants, 'African mafias work together in Italy,' national prosecutor says, 29 November 2019,https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/21209/african-mafias-work-together-in-italy-nationalprosecutor-says, accessed 14 February 2021
Infomigrants, Germany 'the brothel of Europe' for trafficked Nigerian women, 9 December 2019,https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/21117/germany-the-brothel-of-europe-for-traffickednigerian-women, accessed 14 February 2021
Infomigrants, Italian police uncover trafficking of Nigerian women, minors, 19 December 2019,https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/21654/italian-police-uncover-trafficking-of-nigerian-womenminors, accessed 14 February 2021
Infomigrants, Nigerian returnees face poverty and destitution back home, 2 February 2018,https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/7345/nigerian-returnees-face-poverty-and-destitution-backhome, accessed 15 February 2021
Infomigrants, Nigerian sex trafficking syndicate on trial in France , 6 November 2019,https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/20646/nigerian-sex-trafficking-syndicate-on-trial-in-france1, accessed 12 February 2021

73

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

InfoMigrants, Tricked, trafficked and sold: How criminal gangs are bringing Nigerian women to Italy,
25 January 2019, https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/14725/tricked-trafficked-and-sold-howcriminal-gangs-are-bringing-nigerian-women-to-italy, accessed 14 February 2021
Inkyfada, Investigation: At the Heart of Human Trafficking Networks in Libya, 1 December 2020,
https://inkyfada.com/en/2020/12/01/human-trafficking-libya/, accessed 10 February 2021
INSigHT, Building Capacity to Deal with Human Trafficking and Transit Routes in Nigeria, Italy,
Sweden GAP ANALYSIS SUMMARY, June 10-11, 2019, Protea Hotel - Benin City, Edo State,https://www.insightproject.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/PJI_Gap_Analysis_Report-1.pdf,
accessed 22 February 2021
Interpol, Online African Organized Crime from Surface to Dark Web, July 2020,
https://www.euneighbours.eu/sites/default/files/publications/2020-08/INTERPOL report.pdf,
accessed 24 February 2021
IOM (International Organization for Migration) in the Netherlands, What is Reintegration
Assistance?, n.d., https://iom-nederland.nl/en/voluntary-return/what-is-reintegration-assistance,
accessed 22 March 2021
IOM (International Organization for Migration), Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration, n.d.,
https://www.iom.no/avrr, accessed 22 March 2020
IOM (International Organization for Migration), Farmers, Private Sector and Returnees Join Forces to
Launch Pineapple Factory, Foster Reintegration in Nigeria, 21 February 2020,
https://www.iom.int/news/farmers-private-sector-and-returnees-join-forces-launch-pineapplefactory-foster-reintegration, accessed 25 February 2021
IOM (International Organization for Migration), Flow Monitoring Surveys – Italy, February 2021,
Europe — Flow Monitoring Surveys in Italy in 2020 | Flow monitoring (iom.int), accessed 18 March
2021
IOM (International Organization for Migration), Human Trafficking Through the Central
Mediterranean Route: Data, Stories and Information Collected by the International Organization for
Migration, 2017, https://italy.iom.int/sites/default/files/newsdocuments/IOMReport_Trafficking.pdf, accessed 12 February 2021
IOM (International Organization for Migration), Irregular migration routes to Europe: West andCentral Africa, January-June 2020, https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/IOM Mediterranenean Developments - Flows from WCA - June 2020 - EN - VF.pdf, accessed 18 February2021
IOM (International Organization for Migration), Mixed Migration Flows in the Mediterranean:
Compilation of Available Data and Information, November 2019,https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/FCR November 2019_final.pdf, accessed 15
February 2021
IOM (International Organization for Migration), Nigerian Returnees Learn the Ropes of Business
Development at Home, 31 August 2018, https://www.iom.int/news/nigerian-returnees-learn-ropesbusiness-development-home, accessed 19 February 2021
IOM (International Organization for Migration), Top 5 Nationalities Interviewed in Italy in 2019, July
2020, https://dtm.iom.int/reports/europe-%E2%80%94-flow-monitoring-surveys-top-5nationalities-interviewed-italy-2019 , accessed 19 February 2021
IPS, The Exploitative System that Traps Nigerian Women as Slaves in Lebanon, 14 September 2020,
http://www.ipsnews.net/2020/09/the-exploitative-system-that-traps-nigerian-women-as-slaves-inlebanon/, accessed 13 February 2021

74

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

Jorge E., I. Antolínez and A. Alonso, The Construction of Silence: Narratives of Nigerian Women
Crossing into Europe, UNESCO Chair on Gender, Wellbeing and a Culture of Peace Working Paper
Series, March 2020, https://minds.wisconsin.edu/bitstream/handle/1793/80836/FINAL Constructionof Silence.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y, accessed 18 February 2021
Kuschminder, K., Before disembarkation: Eritrean and Nigerian migrants journeys within Africa,
Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 2020,
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epub/10.1080/1369183X.2020.1804192?needAccess=true,
accessed 19 February 2021
L’Express, Qui est Jessica Edosomwan, la fugitive la plus recherchée de France ?, 18 October 2019,https://www.lexpress.fr/actualite/societe/justice/qui-est-jessica-edosomwan-la-fugitive-la-plusrecherchee-de-france_2104064.html, accessed 12 February 2021
Le Monde, Jusqu’à sept ans de prison pour 24 membres d’un réseau de prostitution de femmes
nigérianes, 29 November 2019, https://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2019/11/29/jusqu-a-septans-de-prison-pour-24-membres-d-un-reseau-de-prostitution-de-femmesnigerianes_6021081_3224.html, accessed 15 February 2021
Leadership, Obaseki Names World Class Returnees’ Shelter After Daisy Danjuma, September 2020,
https://leadership.ng/obaseki-names-world-class-returnees-shelter-after-daisy-danjuma/, accessed
27 March 2021
Malakooti, A. The Intersection of Irregular Migration and Trafficking in West Africa and the Sahel
Understanding the Patterns of Vulnerability, 2020, https://globalinitiative.net/wpcontent/uploads/2020/11/The-intersection-of-irregular-migration-and-trafficking-in-West-Africaand-the-Sahel-GITOC.pdf, accessed 22 February 2021
Medico International & Brot fur die Welt, Emergency returns by IOM from Libya and Niger, July
2020, https://www.medico.de/fileadmin/user_upload/media/rueckkehr-studie-en.pdf, accessed 15
February 2021
Mixed Migration Center, Protection risks along migration routes through North Africa to Italy,
September 2020, http://www.mixedmigration.org/wpcontent/uploads/2020/09/133_snapshot_EU_protection_risks.pdf, accessed 25 February 2021
Mixed Migration Centre, Protection concerns of people on the move across West Africa and Libya,
May 2018, https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Fraught-with-Risk-2.pdf,
accessed 25 February 2021
Netherlands, ACVZ (Adviescommissie voor Vreemdelingenzaken), Research report: Secondary
Movements of Asylum Seekers in the EU, 12 November 2019,https://www.adviescommissievoorvreemdelingenzaken.nl/binaries/adviescommissievoorvreemdelingenzaken/documenten/publicaties/2019/11/05/increasing-onward-migration-of-asylum-seekersin-the-eu/Secondary_movements_asylum_seekers_research_report_ACVZ_201911.pdf , accessed
17 February 2021
Netherlands, Nationaal Rapporteur Mensenhandel, Slachtoffermonitor Mensenhandel 2015-2019[Victim Monitor Human Trafficking 2015-2019], 2020,
https://www.nationaalrapporteur.nl/publicaties/rapporten/2020/10/16/slachtoffermonitormensenhandel-2015-2019, accessed 18 February 2021
New Humanitarian (The), First Person: Want to thwart human traffickers? Just add water, 31
October 2018, https://newhumanitarian.medium.com/first-person-want-to-thwart-humantraffickers-just-add-water-56abc1da548c, accessed 15 February 2021

75

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

New Humanitarian (The), Nigerians returned from Europe face stigma and growing hardship, 28 July
2020, https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news-feature/2020/07/28/Nigeria-migrants-returnEurope, accessed 21 February 2021
New Yorker (The), The Desperate Journey of a Trafficked Girl, 3 April 2017,https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/04/10/the-desperate-journey-of-a-trafficked-girl[Paywall], accessed 23 March 2021
Nigeria Health Watch, A Different Kind of Charity; Empowering Orphanages to Fight Malnutrition in
the FCT, 16 April 2019, https://nigeriahealthwatch.com/a-different-kind-of-charity-empoweringorphanages-to-fight-malnutrition-in-the-fct/, accessed 5 February 2021
Nigeria, NAPTIP (National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons), 2017 Data Analysis, 2018,https://www.naptip.gov.ng/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/2017-DATA-ANALYSIS-FINAL.pdfNAPTIP,
accessed 27 February 2021
Nigeria, NAPTIP (National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons), 2018 4 Quarter Report,
2018, https://www.naptip.gov.ng/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/4th-Quarter-2018-Analysis.pdf,
accessed 27 February 2021
Nigeria, NAPTIP (National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons), 2019 Data Analysis, 2019,https://www.naptip.gov.ng/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/2019-Data-Analysis.pdf, accessed 27
February 2021
Nigeria, NAPTIP (National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons), About NAPTIP, n.d.,
https://www.naptip.gov.ng/about-naptip-2/, accessed 30 March 2021
Nigeria, NAPTIP (National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons), Counselling And
Rehabilitation, n.d., https://www.naptip.gov.ng/departments/counselling-and-rehabilitation/,
accessed 23 March 2021
Nigeria, NAPTIP (National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons), Month: October 2020,
n.d., https://www.naptip.gov.ng/2020/10/, accessed 23 March 2021
Nigeria, NAPTIP (National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons), National Policy on
Protection and Assistance to Trafficked Persons in Nigeria, 2008
Nigeria, National Bureau for Statistics, Nigeria Living Standards Survey 2018/2019, 2021,
https://microdata.worldbank.org/index.php/catalog/3827/related-materials, accessed 22 March
2021
Nigeria, Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Law Enforcement and Administration Act, 2003,
https://www.refworld.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rwmain/opendocpdf.pdf?reldoc=y&docid=54f98a284,
accessed 2 February 2021
Nigeria, Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition), Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015,
https://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex4.detail?p_lang=en&p_isn=101267&p_country=NGA&p_classification=04, accessed 2 February 2021
OHCHR (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights), Desperate and Dangerous: Report on
the human rights situation of migrants and refugees in Libya, 20 December 2018,https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/LY/LibyaMigrationReport.pdf, accessed 15 February
2021
OHCHR (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights), End of visit statement, Nigeria (3-10
September) by Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons,especially Women and Children, 10 September 2018,https://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=23526&LangID=E,
accessed 20 February 2021

76

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

Okoli, N. and U. Idemudia, ‘Survivor’s Perceptions of Human Trafficking Rehabilitation Programs in
Nigeria: Empowerment or Disempowerment?’, Journal of Human Trafficking, 2020,
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/23322705.2020.1777382?journalCode=uhmt20[Paywall], accessed 25 February 2021
Okoli, N.H., Empowerment and Reintegration: Survivors’ Perceptions of Human Trafficking
Rehabilitation Programs in Nigeria, A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies in Partial
Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Graduate Program in Development
Studies, York University, Toronto, Ontario, 2020.
https://yorkspace.library.yorku.ca/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10315/37710/Okoli_Nnenna_H_2020_M
asters.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y, accessed 20 February 2021
Olabisi Oluwatoyin, T. and A. Akinyoade, Coercion or Volition: Making Sense of the Experiences ofFemale Victims of Trafficking from Nigeria in the Netherlands, 2015, (PDF) Coercion or Volition:
Making Sense of the Experiences of Female Victims of Trafficking from Nigeria in the Netherlands(researchgate.net), accessed 23 February 2021
Olusegun Ikuteyijo, L., Irregular Migration as Survival Strategy: Narratives from Youth in Urban
Nigeria, West African Youth Challenges and Opportunity Pathways, 2020,
https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2F978-3-030-21092-2_3.pdf, accessed 21 March
2021
Pascoal, R. Stranded: The New Trendsetters of the Nigerian Human Trafficking Criminal Networks for
Sexual Purposes, 2018, https://www.researchgate.net/profile/RafaelaPascoal/publication/330727949_Stranded_The_new_trendsetters_of_the_Nigerian_human_trafficki
ng_criminal_networks_for_sexual_purposes/links/5c515ec9299bf12be3ed0e40/Stranded-The-newtrendsetters-of-the-Nigerian-human-trafficking-criminal-networks-for-sexual-purposes.pdf, accessed
20 February 2021
Pascoal, R., How Nigerian human trafficking networks use motherhood to maintain and introduce
their victims into sexual exploitation, Journal of Trafficking, Organized Crime and Security, 2017,https://www.researchgate.net/profile/RafaelaPascoal/publication/321757894_How_Nigerian_human_trafficking_networks_use_motherhood_to_maintain_and_introduce_their_victims_into_sexual_exploitation/links/5a3051fa458515
a13d854a4d/How-Nigerian-human-trafficking-networks-use-moth-erhood-to-maintain-andintroduce-their-victims-into-sexual-exploitation.pdf , accessed 18 February 2021
Pascoal, R., Motherhood in the Context of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation, 2020,
https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-3-030-50849-4, accessed 20 February 2021.
Pathfinders Justice Initiative, Edo state human trafficking bill signed into law by governor Obaseki, 24
May 2018, https://pathfindersji.org/edo-state-passes-new-law-against-human-trafficking/, accessed
5 February 2021
Plambech, S., Back from “the Other Side”: The Postdeportee Life of Nigerian Migrant Sex Workers,
2018, https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-57267-3_5 [Paywall], accessed 22
March 2021.
Plambech, S., ‘God brought you home – deportation as moral governance in the lives of Nigerian sex
worker migrants’, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 2017, God brought you home –deportation as moral governance in the lives of Nigerian sex worker migrants: Journal of Ethnic andMigration Studies: Vol 43, No 13 (tandfonline.com) [Paywall], accessed 22 March 2021
Premium Times, ANALYSIS: Despite successes, NAPTIP investigates, prosecutes only few reported
trafficking cases, 2 October 2019, https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/355530analysis-despite-successes-naptip-investigates-prosecutes-only-few-reported-trafficking-cases.html,
accessed 25 February 2021
77

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

Premium Times, Another 71 Nigerian women trafficked to Lebanon arrive home, 17 August 2020,
https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/409312-another-71-nigerian-womentrafficked-to-lebanon-arrive-home.html, accessed 5 February 2021
Premium Times, Football agents in Nigeria tasked on trafficking, other vices, 13 November 2019,https://www.premiumtimesng.com/sports/nigeria-sports-news/362675-football-agents-in-nigeriatasked-on-trafficking-other-vices.html, accessed 7 February 2021
Premium Times, INVESTIGATION: Grim tales of rape, child trafficking in Nigeria’s displaced persons
camps, 31 January 2015, https://www.premiumtimesng.com/investigationspecial-reports/176005investigation-grim-tales-rape-child-trafficking-nigerias-displaced-persons-camps.html, accessed 5
February 2021
Reuters, Black magic ban dents sex trafficking in Nigeria, 19 September 2018,https://www.reuters.com/article/ozatp-us-nigeria-trafficking-curse-crime-idAFKCN1LZ12D-OZATP,
accessed 15 February 2021
Reuters, Nigeria convicts family of sex traffickers with rare jail sentence, 17 November 2020,
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nigeria-trafficking-trfn-idUSKBN27X1P4, accessed 25 February
2021
RFI, Nigerian prostitution network dismantled in France, 6 October 2018,https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20181006-nigerian-prostitution-network-dismantled-france, accessed
12 February 2021
RFI, Nigerian sex trafficking syndicate on trial in France, 6 November 2019,https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/20646/nigerian-sex-trafficking-syndicate-on-trial-in-france1, accessed 12 February 2021
Rodríguez López, S., Getting to Know Women Convicted of Human Trafficking in Spain: Personal
Profiles and Involvement in Crime, Women & Criminal Justice, 2020,
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08974454.2020.1835791 [Paywall], accessed 18
February 2021
Samyn, S., Seksmigratie als deel van de overlevingseconomie in Nigeria [Sex migration as part of thesurvival economy in Nigeria], 2018,https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341001454_Seksmigratie_als_deel_van_de_overlevingse
conomie_in_Nigeria/link/5ea9647645851592d6a89d95/download, accessed 23 February 2021
Save the Children, Young Invisible Enslaved: Children Victims of Trafficking and Labour Exploitationin Italy, July 2017, https://www.savethechildren.it/sites/default/files/files/rapporto young invisible
enslaved DEF.pdf, accessed 10 February 2021
SBM Intel, Rivers of blood: Gang violence in Nigeria’s garden state, 22 June 2020,
https://www.sbmintel.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/202006_Rivers-of-Blood.pdf, accessed 15
February 2021
Semprebon, M., Fighting Human Trafficking in Nigeria: Recent and ongoing projects (2010-2019),
2020, http://www.unescochair-iuav.it/wpcontent/uploads/2020/04/INSigHT_Gap_Analysis_Report.pdf, accessed 26 February 2021
Sourd, A. & A. Vacher, La traite des êtres humains en France Profil des victimes suivies par lesassociations en 2019, 2020, https://alliancedelesperance.org/wpcontent/uploads/2020/12/traite_etres_humains_france_2019.pdf, accessed 23 February 2021
Sputnik International, 'Black Axe': Reports of African Drug Mafia Taking Over Sweden, 23 July 2019,https://sputniknews.com/europe/201907231076330019-black-axe-reports-of-african-drug-mafiataking-over-sweden/, accessed 15 February 2021

78

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

Switzerland, SEM (Secrétariat d’Etat aux migrations), Focus Nigeria, Etat d’Edo, émigration et retour,
22 March 2019
Sylvain, P., Souteneurs noirs à Marseille, 1918-1921 Contribution à l'histoire de la minorité noire en
France [*], Annales. Histoire, Sciences Sociales, 2009, https://www.cairn.info/revue-annales-2009-6page-1361.htm, accessed 25 March 2021
The Children’s Society, Boys Don't Cry: Improving identification and disclosure of sexual exploitationof boys and young men trafficked to the UK, 2016, https://www.stockton.gov.uk/media/6575/boysand-trafficking-report-lowres-pcr059.pdf, accessed 10 February 2021.
Thomsom Reuters Foundation, Nigeria: Tolerance of Trafficking Protects Nigeria's Trade in Humans,
28 May 2020, https://news.trust.org/item/20200528075111-ib3zo/, accessed 15 February 2021
TIME, An Ancient Curse Kept Nigerian Women Bound to Sex Slavery. Now, It’s Been Reversed, 17
April 2018, https://time.com/longform/juju-curse-nigeria-sex-slavery-europe/, accessed 15 February
2021
TIME, 'It Was As if We Weren’t Human.' Inside the Modern Slave Trade Trapping African Migrants,
14 March 2019, https://time.com/longform/african-slave-trade/, accessed 18 February 2021
TIME, The Families of Migrants Held Hostage Are Using Facebook to Raise Money for Smugglers’Ransoms, 5 February 2019, https://time.com/5510517/facebook-smuggling-libya-ransoms/,
accessed 18 February 2021
Transparency International and Afrobarometer, Global Corruption Barometer Africa 2019 Citizens’
Views and Experiences of Corruption, 2019,https://images.transparencycdn.org/images/2019_GCB_Africa3.pdf, accessed 26 March 2021
Trouw, Benin City loopt leeg: waarom de vrouwenhandel van Afrika naar Europa niet te stoppen is[Benin City is emptying: Why the trafficking of women from Africa to Europe cannot be stopped], 25
May 2018, https://www.trouw.nl/nieuws/benin-city-loopt-leeg-waarom-de-vrouwenhandel-vanafrika-naar-europa-niet-te-stoppen-is~b87ccef7/, accessed 21 February 2021
Trouw, Verlost uit de Libische horror, terug in Nigeria. En dan? [Released from Libyan horror, back in
Nigeria. And then?], 31 May 2018, https://www.trouw.nl/nieuws/verlost-uit-de-libische-horrorterug-in-nigeria-en-dan~b6b5358c/, accessed 22 February 2021
UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), Assessment of Trafficking Risks inInternally Displaced Persons Camps in North-East Nigeria, April 2020,
https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/75273.pdf, accessed 20 February 2021
UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), Italy Sear Arrivals Dashboard – December
2019, 21 January 2020, https://data2.unhcr.org/en/documents/details/73536, accessed 20 February
2021
UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), Mixed Migration Routes and Dynamics in
Libya in 2018, June 2019,https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/impact_lby_report_mixed_migration_routes_and_dynamics_in_2018_june_2019.pdf, accessed 25 February 2021
UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund), 2016-2017 Multi-Indicator Cluster Survey, February 2018,https://www.unicef.org/nigeria/media/1406/file/Nigeria-MICS-2016-17.pdf.pdf, accessed 10
February 2021
UNSG (United Nations Secretary General), Children and Armed Conflict in Nigeria, 6 July 2020,
https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/report-NIGERIA.pdf, accessed 10 February
2021

79

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

US, USDOS (United States Department of State), Trafficking in Persons Report 2020: Nigeria, 25 June
2020, https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/2020-TIP-Report-Complete-062420FINAL.pdf, accessed 26 February 2021
University of Bedfordshire, Vulnerability to Human Trafficking: A Study of Vietnam, Albania, Nigeria
and the UK - Report of Shared Learning Event held in Lagos, Nigeria: 17-18 January 2018, October
2018, https://www.antislaverycommissioner.co.uk/media/1264/vulnerability-to-human-traffickingnigeria.pdf, accessed 15 February 2021
UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime), Corruption in Nigeria: Patterns And Trends Second survey on corruption as experienced by the population, December 2019,https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-andanalysis/statistics/corruption/nigeria/Corruption_in_Nigeria_2019_standard_res_11MB.pdf,
accessed 28 February 2021
UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime), Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2014,
2014, https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/glotip/GLOTIP_2014_full_report.pdf,
accessed 10 February 2021
UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime), NAPTIP kick-off process to develop a newnational action plan against human trafficking, 23 November 2020,
https://www.unodc.org/nigeria/en/press/naptip-kick-off-process-to-develop-a-new-national-actionplan-against-human-trafficking.html, accessed 20 February 2021
UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime), Nigeria heeds global call, sets up State Task
Force against human trafficking, n.d., https://www.unodc.org/nigeria/en/nigeria-heeds-global-call-sets-up-state-task-force-against-human-trafficking.html, accessed 23 March 2021
UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime), Strengthening the policy framework andresponse to human trafficking in Nigeria (2020 – 2021), 2020.
https://www.unodc.org/nigeria/en/strengthening-the-policy-framework-and-response-to-humantrafficking-in-nigeria.html, accessed 15 March 2021
Vanderhurst, S., Governing with God: Religion, Resistance, and the State in Nigeria's Counter‐
Trafficking Programs, AnthroSource, 2017,https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/plar.12215 [Paywall], accessed 20
February 2021
Vanguard, Girls trafficked from Akwa Ibom for prostitution in Lagos open up, 16 May 2020,
https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/05/girls-trafficked-from-akwa-ibom-for-prostitution-in-lagosopen-up/, accessed 10 February 2021
VPRO, Zwangere Afrikaanse asielzoeksters verdwijnen uit opvang [Pregnant African asylumseekers
disappear from reception centres], 19 February 2020,
https://www.vpro.nl/argos/lees/onderwerpen/lost-in-europe/2020/asielzoeksters-nigeria.html,
accessed 20 February 2021
VRT, PODCAST: De meisjes van de nacht [Girls of the night], 2018,https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2018/05/30/podcast--de-meisjes-van-de-nacht/, accessed 15
February 2021
Walk Free Foundation, The Global Slavery Index 2018, 2018,https://downloads.globalslaveryindex.org/ephemeral/GSI-2018_FNL_190828_CO_DIGITAL_P1616599065.pdf, accessed 22 March 2021
Washington Post (The), Nigerians return from slavery in Libya to thriving sex-trafficking industry backhome, 23 January 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/nigerians-return-from-80Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beingsslavery-in-libya-to-thriving-sex-trafficking-industry-back-home/2018/01/19/b4bcffa0-e4d4-11e7927a-e72eac1e73b6_story.html [Paywall], accessed 22 February 2021
Washington Post (The), Returned to a war zone: One boat. Dozens of dreams. All blocked by
Europe’s anti-migrant policies., 28 December 2019,https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/african-migrants-left-libya-for-europe-theywere-returned-to-a-war-zone/2019/12/27/ca748098-1a8d-11ea-9ddd-3e0321c180e7_story.html[Paywall], accessed 22 February 2021
Washington Post [The], Nigerians return from slavery in Libya to thriving sex-trafficking industry
back home, 23 January 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/nigerians-returnfrom-slavery-in-libya-to-thriving-sex-trafficking-industry-back-home/2018/01/19/b4bcffa0-e4d411e7-927a-e72eac1e73b6_story.html [Paywall], accessed 15 March 2021

81

Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

Annex 2: Terms of reference
Aim: the report provides an update of EASO’s 2015 Sex Trafficking of women report and ofChapter 3.16 Victims in THB in EASO’s 2018 Targeting of Individuals report. Reference period: 20192020

1

Human trafficking in Nigeria introduction
1.1
Different types of human trafficking (sex, labour, organ, baby factory….. etc) andsince when this has been going on
1.2
Prevalence and victims
1.3
Regions of recruitment (Benin city, Edo State and/or other major hub)
1.4
Profiles of trafficked victims (men, women, children) and most probable victims of
trafficking, including risk-impacting circumstances

2

Modus operandi of THB in Nigeria
2.1
Structure and size of Nigerian trafficking networks
2.2
Means of recruitment for trafficking
2.3
The debts system and the use of juju (also impact of Oba’s comments)
2.4
Sex trafficking: Role of ‘madams’ and victim’s relatives
2.5
Travel to Europe

3

Situation of returnees to Nigeria
3.1
Repatriation (voluntary and forced return)
3.2
Attitude of relatives and communities towards ‘successful’ and ‘unsuccessful’
returning victims of THB
3.3
Attitude of relatives and communities towards children who have been trafficked
3.4
Support organisations (NGOs) and shelters in Nigeria
3.5
Treatment of traffickers against returnees/ violence
3.6
Relocation in Nigeria
3.7
Factors influencing possible retrafficking (risk of retrafficking)4

Role of the state
4.1
Role of the state in awareness raising of THB
4.2
Effectiveness of NAPTIP
4.3
State response to returnees, role of NAPTIP
4.4
State action (police and judiciary) against traffickers
4.5
Possibility of state protection for returnees

82Country of origin information report | Nigeria: Trafficking in Human Beings

doi: 10.2847/777951

83