Transboundary trafficking of Africans for inhuman and exploitative labour: The Nigeria experience

Citizens of some African countries have over the decades been victims of human trafficking, a transnational type of slavery in modern times in which some ill-informed persons are made to perform all sorts of inhuman, degrading and exploitative labour. Through deceit, fraud, force, misrepresentation or threat, these victims are transported across national borders or within their territorial boundaries. Factors which make victims vulnerable include, but not limited to poverty, ignorance, corruption and bad governance. Nigeria is a State Party to some international and regional conventions which prohibit and prevent these crimes. Indeed, has enacted anti-human trafficking legislation to put an end to the crime, as well as to hold offenders accountable. Yet, the crime of human trafficking keeps increasing at an astronomical level, despite the availability of an avalanche of legislation. There is therefore, need for an efficient and intentional monitoring, implementation and enforcement of the available legal regimes in the country through the adoption of proactive measures, including the training and re-training of personnel saddled with the responsibility of enforcing the laws as well as the Police Force which is saddled with the responsibility of the investigation of crime and the Immigration Officers, whose responsibility is to secure national boundary.