THE MENACE OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING

The authorities must do more to contain the criminal enterprise

The 2024 World Day Against Trafficking being marked today “provides an opportunity for governments to show their commitment and stop criminals from exploiting people for profit”, according to the United Nations. In several locations across the country today, mostly in the South, impregnated girls are held captive until they give birth and compelled to give up their babies for varying sums of money per head, depending on the sex. This illicit trade is part of an international ring in human slavery and organ trafficking for which Nigeria is becoming increasingly notorious. It is therefore important for the authorities to begin tackling what has become a scandalous business in human trafficking and associated crimes.

The National Universities Commission (NUC) recently alerted the public about a foreign-based human trafficking network that operates under the pretense of offering internships to Nigerian students. Meanwhile, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has also expressed concern over the escalating incidents of baby factories and child trafficking across the country. One of the most recent incidents occurred in Umunkwa village, Abia State, where ten victims were rescued from a baby factory. The victims, aged between one and 24 years, included seven young girls, six of whom are pregnant, one lactating mother, and two boys who are minors. The factory was operated by a 63-year-old woman.

 Unfortunately, human trafficking is thriving among some desperate persons who have come to regard it as a business. Members of the syndicates also scout for young and impoverished females with unwanted pregnancies to lure them to many of the so-called homes and orphanages where they are ‘quarantined’ until they give birth to babies that are bought from them. In some cases, young men are brought into the homes to impregnate these girls for fees. By the code of this organised crime, young girls are deliberately impregnated for the purpose of producing children that will be taken away from them. These children are then traded like commodities.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has long confirmed the prevalence of modern-day slavery known as trafficking in persons (TIP) in the country. “Its high occurrence has made Nigeria to be classified as a source, transit and destination country in TIP,” UNODC once stated while estimating that 750,000 to one million persons are trafficked annually in the country. But the increasing number of our citizens being trafficked abroad for nefarious activities places a heavy burden on the authorities.

It is shameful that Nigeria is regarded not only as a transit route for this illegal trade but also a source as well as a destination with children and young adults, especially of the womenfolk, now becoming merchandise. In what is clearly an organised crime, human traffickers move their victims from country to country until they reach their destination. In the process, many die even as the survivors are subjected to all forms of indignity, in the bid to repay the heavy debts owed to their “benefactors” by way of travel expenses. But the trade is thriving because many of the people involved wield powerful influence with which they circumvent the law.

A demonstration of political will to diligently prosecute offenders would serve as deterrence. On the World Day Against Trafficking, we must cast away the complacency that has emboldened the perpetrators of this criminal enterprise who exploit the most vulnerable of our society for illicit gains.