ENDING HUMAN TRAFFICKING EXPLOITATION
All the stakeholders must do more to stem the menace
As Nigerians join other countries for the 2025 World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, with the theme, ‘Human Trafficking is Organised Crime – End the Exploitation’, we must work to dismantle trafficking networks and ensure the rights and safety of victims. Unfortunately, human trafficking is thriving among some desperate persons who have come to regard it as a business. But it is shameful that Nigeria is regarded not only as a transit route for this illegal trade but also a source as well as a destination with children and young adults, especially of the womenfolk, now becoming merchandise.
The latest, and most heinous, dimensions to human trafficking in Nigeria include fake job opportunities and scholarships in some destination countries and online loan schemes, according to NAPTIP Director General, Binta Adamu Bello. In what is clearly an organised crime, human traffickers move their victims from country to country until they reach their destination. In the process, many die even as the survivors are subjected to all forms of indignity, in the bid to repay the heavy debts owed to their “benefactors” by way of travel expenses. But the trade is thriving because most of the people involved wield powerful influence with which they circumvent the law.
The sheer magnitude and sophistication of this human merchandising indicate that for any meaningful breakthrough in the efforts to arrest it, collaborative attempts must be made by governments, non-governmental organisations, corporate bodies and the media. Critical stakeholders can no longer continue to watch from the sidelines while unscrupulous people classify fellow human beings as commodities and benefit from their ignorance, desperation and, sometimes, greed.
Meanwhile, these traffickers now also invest in harvesting human organs which has become a very lucrative enterprise. With so many people in need of kidney, liver and heart transplants, records reveal that these organs are in high demand, especially in developed countries. Out of desperation, many Nigerians also now sell their vital organs and, in the process, endanger their lives. That some of our medical personnel are being incriminated in this affront against humanity, and on our psyche and pride as a people is why the health authorities and critical stakeholders should be concerned.
Since the trade in human organs and trafficking in human eggs and human embryos are multibillion dollar businesses, it is no surprise that some Nigerian traffickers are being attracted. And given the level of economic deprivation in the country, it is also no surprise that there are many willing customers. There have been stories of how some Nigerian women are usually administered drugs that cause ovarian hyper stimulation to extract their eggs afterwards. There have also been instances where female undergraduates of some Nigerian universities sell their eggs to willing buyers. Also, the ever growing need to feed the IVF ‘factories’ with embryos has engendered the exploitation of young women for their eggs.
There is also another dimension to the problem. Some unscrupulous Nigerians now recruit young boys and girls from rural communities with the promise of securing them good jobs in the cities when the real intention is to harvest their organs for sale. Therefore, a demonstration of political will to diligently prosecute offenders would serve as deterrent to those engaged in the nefarious trade. That has been demonstrated in many countries where prominent people have been convicted for such crimes. There is therefore a need for collaborative efforts by the relevant local agencies, state government and the international partners if we are to successfully tackle this most heinous menace.
On the World Day Against Trafficking 2025, we must cast away the complacency that has emboldened the perpetrators of this criminal enterprise who exploit the most vulnerable of our society for illicit gains.
