The United States has termed the corrupt judiciary and immigration officials in Nigeria as aiding human traffickers in the country to act with impunity.
The News Agency of Nigeria reported that this was contained in the US government latest report released on Thursday, and titled ‘2023 Trafficking in Persons Report: Nigeria’.
The report read in part, “The government of Nigeria does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so…Corruption remained a significant concern in the judiciary and immigration services, and it contributed to impunity for traffickers…”
The U.S. government noted that corruption and complicity continued to contribute to impunity for trafficking offences in Nigeria despite the government’s efforts to improve law enforcement.
The report, which the U.S. Department of State released, stated that while the Nigerian government demonstrated overall increased efforts to combat trafficking compared to the previous reporting period, it failed to fully meet the minimum standards for trafficking elimination in the country.
It further read, “Corruption and official complicity in trafficking crimes remained significant concerns, inhibiting law enforcement action and perpetuating impunity for trafficking crimes.
“The government reported investigating two officials for involvement in trafficking crimes – a member of the National Immigration Service and a member of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps.
“The government reported one investigation of sexual exploitation by a government official initiated during the previous reporting period was settled out of court, and two other investigations initiated in the previous reporting period against members of the CJTF for alleged sex trafficking of IDPs are awaiting trial.
“Local judges did not have the same standardised training requirements as federal and state judges, which contributed to corruption and misapplication of the law. Some judges were unfamiliar with the anti-trafficking law, which hindered the government’s ability to hold traffickers accountable.
“Despite numerous previous allegations, the government did not report investigating any CJTF members for child soldiering recruitment or use.”
In highlighting the country’s achievements, the report stated that the Nigerian government initiated investigations into 1,242 cases, including 511 sex trafficking cases, 282 labour trafficking cases, and 449 cases of unspecified forms of trafficking; initiated prosecutions of 78 suspects, including 67 suspects for sex trafficking and 11 suspects for labour trafficking, and continued prosecuting 35 suspects for unspecified forms of trafficking “from previous reporting periods.”
The U.S. Department of State further revealed that Nigeria convicted 97 individuals, 50 for sex trafficking, six for labour trafficking, and 41 for unspecified forms of trafficking.
“This compared with convicting 13 individuals in the previous reporting period. Of those convicted, 94 were convicted under the 2015 TIPLEAA and three were convicted under violence against persons laws,” it noted.
The Nigerian government was, therefore, urged to strengthen its resolve and system to tackle trafficking and corruption, urging it to hold complicit officials as well as individuals affiliated with the government – including security officials and CJTF members – criminally accountable for trafficking offences, including for the sex trafficking of IDPs and past forced recruitment or use of child soldiers.
The report also recommended strengthening “efforts to identify trafficking victims among vulnerable groups, such as children in religious schools, IDPs, returning migrants, and children in domestic service,” including facilitating “training for local, state, and federal judges on human trafficking and the 2015 anti-trafficking law, specifically the provision prohibiting the issuance of fines in lieu of imprisonment in collaboration with international partners.”
