Civil Society and Human Trafficking in Benin City
Chapter One
Aim and Objectives of the Study
The study aims at documenting the role of civil society organization in human trafficking in Benin City. The objectives of the study are four folds:
- To examine critically the factors hindering the curbing of human trafficking in Edo State.
- Promote enhanced awareness campaigns concentrating specifically on different forms of exploitation, especially targeting the demand for sexual and labour exploitation.
- To identify the governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) involved in anti-trafficking initiatives in the country.
- Describe cooperation between agencies within a country and between countries and challenges and recommendations for good practices.
CHAPTER TWO
CONCEPTUALIZATION AND REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Concept of Human Trafficking
Although human trafficking has no universally accepted definition but according to Manbe (2016) human trafficking is a form of slavery which involves the movement of the victim by the trafficker; these victims are however subject to deception, violence or coercion to other locations for the purpose of sexual forced labour and sexual exploitation.
Territo and Kirkham (2010) opines that human trafficking is the movement of people across and within national or local borders for the purpose of exploitation and primarily, a form of sexual enslavement. For Braimah (2010) it is an act of moving a person or a people from one location to another for the purpose of sexual exploitation.
U.S. Department of State (2016) submits that under the United States law, trafficking in person is considered an act in which a commercial sex is induced through force, coercion or fraud or in which a person is induced to perform such act in which the person has not attained the age of 18 or the harbouring, recruitment, provision, transportation or obtaining of a person for services or labour through the use of force coercion or fraud for the purpose of subjecting such a person or persons to peonage, slavery, debt bondage or involuntary servitude. The act of trafficking can be domestic and take place within a territory and it can also be transnational where victims will be recruited and transported across border to another country for sexual exploitation and forced labour. United States Department of State (2016), in her definition submits that human trafficking can involve both adult and children and that it can be said to have taken place when: an adult engages in a commercial sex act, such as prostitution, as the result of force, threats of force, fraud, coercion or any combination of such means, that person is a victim of trafficking. Under such circumstances, perpetrators involved in recruiting, harbouring, enticing, transporting, providing, obtaining, patronizing, soliciting, or maintaining a person for that purpose are guilty of sex trafficking of an adult. Sex trafficking also may occur within debt bondage, as individuals are compelled to continue in prostitution through the use of unlawful “debt,” purportedly incurred through their transportation, recruitment, or even their “sale”—which exploiters insist they must pay off before they can be free. An adult’s initial consent to participate in prostitution is not legally determinative: if one is thereafter held in service through psychological manipulation or physical force, he or she is a victim of trafficking and should receive benefits outlined in the Palermo Protocol and applicable domestic laws. While child trafficking can be said to occur when: a child (younger than 18 years of age) is recruited, enticed, harboured, transported, provided, obtained, patronized, solicited, or maintained to perform a commercial sex act, proving force, fraud, or coercion is not necessary for the offense to be characterized as human trafficking. There are no exceptions to this rule: no cultural or socioeconomic rationalizations alter the fact that children who are exploited in prostitution are trafficking victims. The use of children in the commercial sex trade is prohibited under U.S. law and by statute in most countries around the world. Human trafficking has devastating consequences for children, including long-lasting physical and psychological trauma, disease (including HIV/AIDS), drug addiction, unwanted pregnancy, malnutrition, social ostracism, and even death (United States Department of State, 2016).
Davidson and Donelan (2010) also define trafficking as: Trafficking in persons is used as an umbrella term to cover a range of actions and outcomes. Viewed as a process, trafficking can be said to entail several phases— recruitment, transportation (which could be across several countries), and control in the place of destination. Different groups, agents or individuals may be involved in different phases of the process, and can organize recruitment, transportation and control in different ways. There is thus immense diversity between and within trafficking systems.
Benin City as the Trafficking Location
Most of the trafficked victims trafficked to Europe for sexual exploitation are from Benin city and they are identified as Binis (Landinfo, 2006) many of them also come from neighbouring communities like Uhumwode, Oredo, Orhiomwon and Ovia which are also inhabited by Binis (Okojie et al., 2003) Some victims are also said to come from Etsako and Esan which are in the northern part of Edo State and some come from Lagos, Delta and Ondo States (Okojie et al., 2003) and majority of the trafficked and the traffickers are also from Edo State (Baye, 2012) but these localities can also pride of successful businessmen and academics who detest such trade as trafficking and prostitution.
Most of the victims of trafficking were trafficked by their own family members or relatives who are close to the family. In many cases, these victims are trafficked with the consent of their parents and in some cases those that are married are being trafficked with the consent of their husbands but in some cases many of them are deceived that they will be involved in credible and legal businesses when they get abroad (Danish Immigration Service, 2008) but what was dubbed ‘credible’ turns out to become sexual trafficking and despite the notion that prostitution is ingrained in the Edo society, Aghatise (2002) noted that prostitution is culturally and traditionally not acceptable among the Benin people which is in contrast to the belief that the society accept and condones prostitution. Against this submission, (Attoh, 2010) is of the opinion the decision of a woman leaving the shores of Benin City to Europe for sex trafficking is oftentimes a family decision and this gains the approval and encouragement of the parents and it is considered a family investment and it is the pride of many families that they have someone in Europe who is earning money and these family members point to the things that these people have been able to acquire through trafficking in Europe as source of pride to the family (Attoh, 2010).
In Benin City, it has become a thing of pride and status to have a daughter who has been trafficked to Europe and who is ‘doing business’ and sending money home and such daughters have become families symbol of status and once a woman is able to return wealthy and able to build good houses and monuments that stands as her gains from Europe, the society necessarily does not care and she needs not hide the fact that the money is from prostitution and such people stand as role model to other young people in the community who also pray to be trafficked so that they can become the family’s pride and this has seemingly made prostitution to appear acceptable among the people (The Independent, 2011).
CHAPTER THREE
GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES AND NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS (NGOS) INVOLVED IN ANTI-TRAFFICKING INITIATIVES IN THE COUNTRY
This chapter elaborates on the roles and contributions of government agencies and nongovernmental organizations in addressing the issues of human trafficking in Edo state particularly in Nigeria. It also illustrates the richness, variety and significance of the roles and contribution of NGOs to the protection of the rights of the trafficked persons, and more generally to combating trafficking in human beings.
Governmental Agencies involved in Anti-trafficking
To curtail the rising spate of human trafficking in Nigeria, the Nigerian government intervention in human trafficking started during the regime of President Olusegun Obasanjo, the President adopted a three-prong attack against the monstrous trade. At the level of the Presidency, was the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and other Related Matters (NAPTIP). Secondly, there were the Federal government paramilitary agencies such as the Nigeria Immigration Service, (NIS); the Nigeria Police (NPF) and the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS). The third prong was at the level of government parastatals like the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), whose primary assignments are only indirectly related to human trafficking. The researcher is interested with the activities of NAPTIP in this study.
The Daily Independent Advertorial (2005) argues that to give legal teeth to the attack on human trafficking in Nigeria; the Federal Government sent a bill to the National Assembly seeking to outlaw human trafficking. The bill, which was passed in August 2003, established the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP, which formally criminalized human trafficking. According to its mission statement, NAPTIP is committed to the prevention of all forms of human degradation and exploitation through the coordinated use of Nigeria’s crime prevention and law enforcement resources. According to the Daily Independent Advertorial, the agency’s act prescribes punishments ranging from 10 years to life imprisonment for traffickers caught exporting persons out of Nigeria and importation of the same into Nigeria plus the procurement of any person for illicit intercourse with another person.
CHAPTER FOUR
COOPERATION BETWEEN NIGERIA AGENCIES AND INTERNATIONAL COUNTRIES
Introduction
One of the most important features of fighting trafficking in humans is the need to address multiple facets of the problem from different angles. This requires a cooperative working relationship between organizations, both governmental and non-governmental, within a country as well as between countries. This chapter examines the cooperation between agencies within the country and at the international level.
The USSD TiP Report 2018 noted: ‘The government maintained efforts to identify and protect internal trafficking victims and increased efforts to assist Nigerians exploited abroad. The government identified 1,121 potential trafficking victims, including 538 people in prostitution, 203 child labor victims—some of whom were forced—and 188 forced labor victims. This was similar to 1,128 potential trafficking victims (529 people in prostitution, 165 child labor victims, and 434 forced labor victims) identified in the previous reporting period.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION
Summary
This research project aimed at identifying the factors contribution to incessant increases of human trafficking victims within the Nigeria and across the international communities.
The chapter one of this research work revealed that the Edo state is the hometown of the most trafficked person in Nigeria. Several researchers around the world have recorded the different problems of human trafficking in Benin City which are; poverty, unemployment, infrastructural facilities, peer pressure, political and socio-cultural factors to mention but few.
Despite numerous problems highlighted above, there are stringent efforts made by civil society, nongovernmental organizations and international organization to end-up this menace through devise initiatives, co-operations and collaborations of different agencies across the globe.
The chapter two of this research work elaborates the concepts, the women vulnerability to trafficking in persons and also enveloped the civil society reported some of the determinable factors that encouraged the women to travel abroad to accumulate wealth in order to be among the prominent people in the society. Besides, the traffickers have discarded religious leader’s admonition for which the traffickers have seen the pastors acquired private jets while the members are being suffocated in abject poverty. This has changed their mindsets that the churches are setup to enrich them rather than helping the less privilege. Family and cultural values have lost its status where the voices of the elders are no longer count and modern civilization has taken over the affairs of the society. These are some of reasons why civil society and nongovernmental organisations could not stop the sails of human trafficking in Nigeria.
The chapter three of this research work identified the government agencies and nongovernmental agencies involved in anti-trafficking initiatives in combating trafficking in person; the roles and contributions both financial or enactment of laws to control the free movement of victims as well as protecting the life of the returnees.
The chapter four illustrates the cooperative working relationship that exists between Nigeria government and international countries in curbing human trafficking. Nigeria receives significant levels of international support and capacity building aimed at improving its migration systems through the United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking. The Nigeria government does not meet the required minimum standard for the eradication of human trafficking as it was commented in US TIP 2018 due to the decline in their maximum contributions during the reporting periods.
The chapter five summarizes, concludes and recommended that human trafficking should adequately be addressed within Nigeria and international countries and Nigeria government should consolidate the enabling acts, laws and order that will bring the overall justice to human trafficking in Nigeria.
Recommendations
Government in particular should make the country attractive to citizens especially the youths through qualitative public education, job creation and provision of social infrastructures, which often constitute the push factor for emigration. Since women and girls are the most vulnerable to trafficking, the federal government is expected to reinforce relevant national laws and international conventions and protocols that protect the rights and privileges of individuals against trafficking.
Ensure the activities of the NAPTIP receive sufficient funding, particularly for prosecuting trafficking offenders and providing adequate care for victims; implement programs for the disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration of former child combatants that take into account the specific needs of child excombatants.
Several key local NGOs in Edo State, with strong community linkages, require more support to enhance their capacity to deliver empowerment and prevention programmes to young people. These NGOs should be actively involved in the design and development of national and international anti-trafficking programmes. The UK should also work with these organizations to deliver localized outreach initiatives for radio and town hall meetings, translated into local languages.
Above all, since globalization has influenced and aggravated human trafficking, just as other transborder crimes, the necessity for closer cooperation and collaboration between Nigeria and other countries to nip the crime in the bud cannot be underestimated.
According to the 2015 TIP Report, the Government of Nigeria does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. For instance, the Government has to implement formal procedures for the return and reintegration of Nigerian victims to ensure that victims are afforded adequate care upon their return to Nigeria; take proactive measures to investigate and prosecute government officials suspected of trafficking-related corruption and complicity in trafficking offenses; Take proactive measures to investigate and prosecute government officials suspected of trafficking-related corruption and complicity in trafficking offense.
There is the need to wage war against poverty. The ability to successfully, reduce poverty, is the starting point of victory over human trafficking. The government should work seriously to alleviate the suffering of the people. Unless this is done, no war against human trafficking can be won. Parents and guardians should also be mindful of porous propositions by dubious tour operators seeking to encourage bogus oversea trips for their young daughters.
Education is necessary to enlighten the population and to sensitize persons to the consequences of child trafficking. Education supportive of and combined with social mobilization is urgently needed. In order to succeed, this proposal must recognize the sensitive subject matter of child trafficking. The material must be designed in such a way that it allows educators to present questions and issues, which might otherwise be rejected by illiterate populations.
Trafficked victims constitute a significant source of information and their experiences should be used in the design of rehabilitation programmes and strategies of prevention.
Much is also required in the area of counseling, rehabilitation and reintegration. Victims, most of who are traumatized, disoriented and haunted by their experience should first undergo counseling before rehabilitation and subsequently adequate reintegration into the society.
The Edo State Government should implement its laws on human trafficking effectively. At present, the statutory laws are not enforced. An example of this lack of enforcement can be seen with the brothels in Edo State which operate as guest houses. Those who are caught indulging with prostitutes should either pay a penalty coupled with community service, or be imprisoned for a considerable period of time.
Members of the public can curb sex trafficking by identifying traffickers and their collaborators, and reporting them to the police and other agencies responsible for curbing trafficking. Potential victims identified by members of the public should be reported to the authorities, so that the potential victims can be monitored.
There is an urgent need for more collaborative thinking between the various agencies. British lawmakers should encourage their Nigerian counterparts to ensure stronger coordination between the government’s anti-human-trafficking agencies, the police and the judiciary.
Conclusion
The peril of human trafficking is destructive, grievous and demoralizing to the victims, the family and the society at large. In all-encompassing and penetrative effects of human trafficking on Nigeria and Nigerians, there is need for a continuous synergy of efforts to curb the menace. The government, Law enforcement agencies, media, religious bodies, traditional rulers and the civil society organizations all are expected to play a pivotal role in the war against human trafficking.
The civil society have contributed maximum efforts to shorten the issues of human trafficking by street-to-street sensitizations, individual and corporate initiatives but all their efforts have not see the dead-end of the impecunious menace.
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