A new report by the United States Department of State has fingered funding, weak legislation and poor law enforcement as some of the issues hindering the fight against human trafficking in Nigeria.
The report also revealed that while the Nigerian government has made efforts in eliminating trafficking in persons, there were a number of standards yet to be complied with.
The report says “In 2012, a total number of 60 girls aged 16-25 were rescued from slave masters in Ghana and Ivory Coast.While in 2011, 104 Nigerian girls used as sex slaves were evacuated from Mali where they were paid as little as 500 CFAs, that’s N150 for sex”.
In the just released 2013 US Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report, Nigeria remained in tier 2 status because the “government of Nigeria does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking”.
A voiced press statement from the US embassy commends government’s effort but lists grey areas.
Meanwhile a report that 200 Nigerian girls are trafficked every month to Russia for prostitution was in the news last week.Nigeria’s Ambassador to Russia, Mister Asam Asam told the News Agency of Nigeria that over 240 girls have been deported since 2012.
But the spokesman for the National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons (NAPTIP), Mr. Arinze Orakwe faulted the findings.
He however describes the US report as a fair assessment that should serve as a wakeup call for Nigeria.
The Executive Secretary of NAPTIP, Beatrice Jedy-Agba, is also concerned about the rehabilitation of rescued victims which in itself is just as important as stopping the crime.
The government has also come under fire for failure to approve draft legislation that would restrict the ability of judges to offer fines in lieu of prison sentence while the Nigerian Police continues to experience difficulty identifying trafficking victims.
An Edo State High Court on Thursday 20th of June sentenced a woman arraigned by NAPTIP to a mere 18 months imprisonment for trafficking young girls to Togo and forcing them into prostitution.