In this life, predators can be humans too. They usually come in the form of close relatives, friends and associates. Loosely, trafficking means exploitation; the implication is that once a person is in the grip of another person who derives any form of reward from his or her presence, that person, who receives next to nothing in return from that association, is being trafficked.
Trafficked persons hardly get a change to seek redress or compensation from their traffickers. Their focus is often how to reunite with their families and reintegrate into the society. They are traumatised and see everyone in their space as a potential predator, waiting for a chance to pounce. They also feel alienated and stigmatised because most people see them as prostitutes, since most trafficked persons are female. Males are also trafficked though.
Sure, it is usually very difficult for victims to escape, particularly when they become aware of the bind they are in because the traffickers already anticipated that move and have that angle covered
Besides, their traffickers will certainly treat them as runaway slaves once caught and, they do catch them, because these predators hunt and operate as a syndicate. This is a major reason their victims need the protection of the law. They also need to be protected from themselves because oftentimes they feel dehumanised and would want to commit suicide or do terrible bodily harm to themselves.
Now, victims of trafficking can fight back and get something out of their sweat. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Nigeria in partnership with the National Agency for Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) want to make sure that happens with their training of officials in the line of justice on ‘Access to Justice for trafficked persons in Nigeria’.
The training funded by the Government of Switzerland is coming under the framework of the project ‘ Support and Capacity Building to NAPTIP on Strengthening Access to Justice and Victim Support – NGAZ54.
Earlier agreement…
In years past, when there was a boom in human trafficking and smuggling of migrants, Switzerland made it known that its shores were off-limit. In fact the country went a step further to sign a pact with Nigeria that would ensure the repatriation of non-political refugees from Nigeria to Switzerland.
The Consul General of Switzerland in Lagos, His Excellency Yves Nicolet stated this, recently, on the sidelines of a training organised by UNODC and NAPTIP.
The Consul General said Switzerland has a clear agreement with Nigeria on migration, explaining that the Nigerian Government accepted to receive back all those migrants that are not recognised as political refugees.
“In Switzerland, we recognise only political refugees and not financial refugees; we have no problems with Nigeria because Nigeria respects all these rules of agreement; they respect our conditions; the only one counsel that I can give is for us to work together; the countries of the origin of the migrants and the countries that receive them.”
He said they have very good experience and example between Switzerland and Nigeria, adding “we work very well together and we signed an agreement about two years ago and I have to say it is one of the best examples of this cooperation.”
Migration problem is not only that of the countries receiving the migrants but also that of the countries from where the migration originated, he said.
“It is not a new problem but it increased in the last months and year and, I think it is a problem that is so important and so actual it will never stop in the future,” the Envoy said.
According to him, the problem of migration is not worse in Africa because there are a lot more migrants from the Middle East with migrants arriving from Turkey, Greece across the Mediterranean Sea.
He said, “This is a huge problem that is very difficult to solve. The only one possibility to solve the problem is for all the countries of the world to work together to stop it.”
Consul General Nicolet said the migration problem will not be solved soon because the war situation is very bad in many countries, and that the result of this was forced migration.
He said, “People leave everything from their home countries to go to where they don’t know the tradition, way of life, they don’t know the languages sometimes, and it is very difficult for them to make a new life but it is also difficult for the countries they go to host because this is an international crisis now and, we are not able to receive everybody as a result of the problem of working places and accommodation, among others.
Better Management of Migration…
Earlier, during a dialogue organised for community leaders in Lagos, the Mr. Koli Kouame, Representative, UNODC Country Office, Nigeria said “Today, the world stands at a threshold of history as it is confronted by a new wave of migratory challenge defined by a complex shifting pattern and attendance human toll.”
Kouame, in his message, delivered by Mikael Jensen, Project Coordinator, Promoting Better Management of Migration in Nigeria said “The political, social and economic crises in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia areconstantly reshaping the migration trends; particularly in Europe.”
The Community Dialogue is funded by the European Union (EU) under the project: ‘Promoting Better Management of Migration in Nigeria. “We are indeed very grateful to the EU for such wonderful initiatives and the valued support,” he said.
The International Organization for Migration, he said calls Europe the most desired destination for irregular migration in the world, and the Mediterranean the world’s most dangerous border crossing.
Trafficking in Persons (TIP), according to him, is a global crime that is estimated to generate 32 billion dollars annually for the perpetrators behind this hideous crime. About 2.5 Million people are trafficked annually with sexual exploitation being the most common reason (79%). In Nigeria TIP manifests itself internally, regionally and internationally with a number of states being especially endemic, including Lagos State. Evidently, factors that create vulnerability to TIP include weakening family and social support nets, ignorance, and aspirations for a better life for the victims and their family.
“I think we are all in agreement that TIP and Smuggling of Migrants (SOM) are crimes that shame us all. They represent a breakdown in the social order of our society whereby, our young people fall victim to scams and offers of attractive opportunities, not knowing that they are not what they seem or wind up seeking greener pastures using irregular means as regular means are too difficult to obtain.
“We are pleased with the efforts made so far, especially in the area of prosecution and supporting trafficked victims to return to a normal life. We remain committed to supporting NAPTIP and other actors, especially Civil Society Organization as they strengthen their activities in combating trafficking in persons.”
At this point in the implementation of the national plan, and generally in their collective efforts, he said they have, under this project, worked under critical areas such as: strengthening NAPTIP’s capacities to do more and be even more effective; increasing capacities at the state level through collaborative efforts and partnerships with state governments and civil societies; exploring and strengthening efforts to create viable alternatives to the promise of going abroad to obtain money through commercial sex work.
Other areas are: strengthening victim return, rehabilitation and reintegration programs and monitoring the results and impact in order to avoid re-victimization and document and share best practices; supporting efforts that are designed to increase cooperation between European countries and Nigeria, especially in law-enforcement aspects – detection, investigations, prosecution, and seizures of proceeds of traffickers; building victim support facilities in the areas of micro-credit, education, and skill acquisition opportunities; and strengthening private partnership engagement and involvement in the matter, especially in awareness raising campaigns and victim rehabilitation and reintegration activities.
Targeting human predators…
As it is said, ‘if you do the crime, you will do the time’ which is why traffickers are being targeted fair and square so that they can be brought to justice.
According to the UNODC’s coordinator of the training, Abimbola Adewumi, the training is targeted at specialised institutions whose mandate is to protect trafficked persons in Nigeria and also provide formal and informal legal services to Trafficked Persons to access justice and prosecute their traffickers. These institutions are: NAPTIP, Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigerian Bar Association, Legal Aid Council, Nigeria Police Force, FIDA, NACTAL and Office of Public Defender.
UNODC has done real work of building the capacity of law enforcement agencies on the issue of victim support but the effort has not yielded commensurate results in the aspect of access to justice.
This challenge is thrown up by the former law of NAPTIP, which Adewumi said was not encompassing enough to give adequate protection, prosecution and all of those services that a victim would want, adding that it was the reason the NAPTIP law was reviewed and signed by former President Goodluck Jonathan.
An aspect of the unwholesome human trafficking business that goes against the grain is the high level of impunity of traffickers and their sponsors, because they know that people are not getting protection from the law.
This is expected to change shortly with law enforcement agencies being trained on the protocols, treaties and agreements available, because they will now be able to handle prosecutions better and get more convictions and the victims themselves would be satisfied that they were able to have easy access to justice that is affordable since they are strapped for cash most times.
Implementation…
It is easier said than done most times, which is the reason the UNODC has a referral mechanism, a kind of network at the national level for service providers, discharging various duties to help victims. Some provide health services, legal aid, psychological services, empowerment and some are educational services.
UNODC has Lagos as a pilot project to test the outcome of the training to see if the referral process fits and works fluidly. The idea is that any of the agencies can refer a victim to other agencies within the network, depending on the need(s) of the victim.
Transportation…
The trafficking in persons Act makes provision for the prosecution and conviction of transporters who are found guilty of aiding human trafficking.
A Director in NAPTIP, Mr. Godwin E Morka, in one of the meetings with transporters in Lagos, listed the ‘Responsibility of Airlines, Commercial Carriers, Tour Operators and Travel Agents.’
According to him, “Trafficking or traffic in Persons means the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, the abuse of power of a position of vulnerability or the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person or debt bondage for the purpose of placing or holding the person whether for or not in involuntary servitude (domestic, sexual or reproductive) in forced or bonded labour, or in slavery – like conditions, the removal of organs or generally for exploitative purposes.”
Stating the responsibility of transporters, he said “Every airline operator, sea vessel operator, commercial carrier, tour operator and travel agent is under obligation not to aid and abet, facilitate and promote: Trafficking in Persons; or Pornography and exploitation in tourism; every airline operator, sea vessel operator, commercial carrier, tour operator and travel agent shall notify its clients of its obligation under subsection (1) of this section.
“Every airline operator, sea vessel operator, commercial carrier, tour operator and travel agent is required to provide a clause in contracts with corresponding suppliers in destination countries, requiring the suppliers to comply with the obligations stated in subsection (1) and (2) of this section; refrain from utilizing messages on printed materials, video or the internet that could suggest or allude to behavior incompatible with the objective of this Act; inform their staff of their obligation under this Act; and include clauses regarding their obligation under this Act in their conditions of service.”
The Act, he said provides that “Every airline operator, sea vessel operator, commercial carrier, tour operator and travel agent who violates the provisions of subsection (1) and (2) of this section; commits an offence and in addition to any penalty provided in any other law or enactment is liable on conviction to fine not exceeding N10, 000,000.00
“Any person who enlists, transports, delivers, accommodates or takes in another person under the age 18 years, for the purpose of removing the person’s organs, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of not less than 7 years and to a fine of not less than N5, 000, 000.00.”\
Among other punishments, he said “All monies, negotiable instruments, securities or other things of value furnished or intended to be furnished by any person in exchange for any violation of this Act or all proceeds traceable to such an exchange, and all monies, negotiable instruments and securities used or intended to be used to facilitate any violation of this Act; and all real property, including any right, title and interest (including any leasehold interest) in the whole or any piece or parcel of land and any improvements or appurtenances which is used or intended to be used, in any manner or part to commit or facilitate the commission of an offence under this Act.”
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