Nigeria; Africa’s largest human trafficking market – Stakeholders lament

The International community and stakeholders in the fight against human trafficking have decried the growing rate of human trafficking in the country saying, Nigeria has the largest human trafficking market in Africa.

The stakeholders revealed that even though human trafficking represents one of the most serious human rights violation crimes, women and girls represent the highest number of females trafficked to Europe for prostitution.

Speaking while addressing a press conference on sex trafficking prior to the screening of the Nigerian film Òlòturé, the Sweden Ambassador to Nigeria, Annika Hahn-Englund emphasised the need to put in place long term solutions to address the demands that enforce this exploitation.

Quoting the EU latest progressive report on trafficking of human beings, Hahn Englund said that Nigeria is the main region in Africa with the highest market.

She further disclosed that governments, international, local organisations as well as key stakeholders have a joint role to play in-order to curb the growing menace.

“While human trafficking is a serious violation of rights, unfortunately, this ugly trend has been going on for years. Every year, over hundreds of women and girls fall victims as they find themselves to foreign countries.

”We need to see the role of the demand in the chain of exploitation and acknowledge the fact that exploitation in prostitution and trafficking for sexual exploitation will not exist if there is no demand.’

“Sweden on its part has put measure in place that bans the purchase but not the sale of sexual acts since 1999, buyers are punished but people in prostitution are not”, she said.

Also, the United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard, said that human trafficking is a global scourge that violates human rights.

She added that it also destroys families, and undermines national security adding stressing the need to tackle it with all seriousness.

”Trafficking explores victims vulnerability and robs them of their basic rights of freedom and human dignity.”

”The criminals behind it destroys families and destroys economic market while enriching their own criminal enterprises, it is a brutal and inhumane crime.” she said.

Earlier, the Executive Director, Iroko Onlus Foundation, Esohe Aghatise, said, the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) recent statistics put sexual exploitation industry gain as $99 billion dollars.

She said, it was unfortunate that girls from Edo State constituted a significant number of the female population trafficked to Europe and other parts of the world for prostitution.

“Most of the girls suffer human rights violations at the hand of their traffickers and those they work for”.

The film screening which was put together by Gloria Steinem’s Equality Fund To End Sex Trafficking was jointly supported by the Embassies of Argentina, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, the United States, FIIAPP, and United Nations Women.