Culled from The Nation When there is a serious storm on the sea, many of the girls end up dying like flies on this Badagry Sea. At various ...
Culled from The Nation
When there is a serious storm on the sea, many of the girls end up dying like flies on this Badagry Sea. At various times, our people have recovered dead bodies from the sea.’
Those were the words of Alhaja Oke, a community in Badagry area of Lagos State, about how the activities of human traffickers have cruelly brought promising lives of many young girls to a tragic end.
Findings showed that the land and the waterway connecting Nigeria to Cotonou in Benin Republic from Mile 2 area of Lagos State have continued to be exploited unfettered by human traffickers to carry out their nefarious activities.
When an accident occurs, especially on the waterways, Alhaja Oke said “there is always no means of contacting their families because the victims often don’t have means of identification on them. They often travel without informing their family members.”
Explaining how the human traffickers operate, she said: “From Mile 2, they take them on water straight to Cotonou pretending they are going there to buy goods.
“They used to traffic them across the water when we must have gone to bed. They do this in the dead of the night.
“They take many young girls across the sea and seriously endanger their lives by so doing.”
The dark complexioned woman described the challenge of human trafficking in the Badagry-Seme corridor as grave and disturbing.
“How they handle these young girls is worrisome,” she said, visibly agitated.
Decrying young girls’ penchant for jumping at every promise made to them for pecuniary gains, she asked rhetorically, “Which money are those girls even looking for travelling in that manner?
“They deceive them that there is money in XYZ, but when they get there, it is dogs that they would be made to sleep with. What is the benefit of the whole trouble?”
Alhaja Oke noted that it is the failure of our young ones, girls in particular, to hustle that is causing all this. It was in the past that it was fashionable and rewarding to travel to other countries. It is not so anymore this time around because they always end up making a mess of the girls.”
She hinted that her community members are taking practical steps to end the menace in their domain.
“We are making the waterways impassable this time around. The intervention of our people is helpstentor stem the tide,” she said.
Also corroborating Alhaja Oke’s remarks, another community member, Abbey, said: “It’s no joke that these guys traffic young girls out of the country using the waterways.
“Many young girls have lost their lives travelling on the water. From Mile 2 to Cotonou on water is just about 40 to 50 minutes.
“They always see it as faster and devoid of bottlenecks that come with travelling by the expressway where you have more than 40 checkpoints from Agbara to Seme.
“From all indications, human trafficking in this axis has become a cash cow carried out without concerns about the safety of the girls.
“Girls are just like sacrificial lambs.”
Aside from waterways, findings further showed, the Mile 2- Seme Road has been a natural route constantly exploited by human traffickers.
Following the inability of relevant government agencies to nip the challenge in the bud, checks showed that non-state actors have begun to incept victims and deal with suspected traffickers in the most savage manner.
A transporter in the Seme axis, who gave his name simply as Senyon, said they have on many occasions battered suspected human traffickers to serve as deterrence to others.
“We always come across human traffickers in this area. They always move about in the night. Each time we sight them, we would deal with them mercilessly because they are always out to destroy the lives of the young girls,” he said.”
Citing some instances where they beat the hell out of some traffickers after rescuing the young girls, Senyon said: “We called a trafficker one day after arresting the young girls he was coordinating their movement.
“When he answered our call, he was saying all manner of things. When he came to our place, he twisted the whole issue.
“When our boys started beating him mercilessly, he calmed down.
“We made him to understand that the girls did not have money and must go back home.”
“Seeing that his life was in serious danger, the trafficker quickly called his partner in Cotonou.
“Ironically, some immigration officials work hand in hand with these traffickers.
“The Cotonou partner of the trafficker sent N300,000 when we insisted that we would not leave the trafficker we had arrested.
“The money was sent through an immigration officer.
“After collecting the money, we contacted the families of the girls and put them in a vehicle that conveyed them back to Mile 2 from where they went back to where they came from.
“We were able to do that with the help of the money we got from the trafficker and his Cotonou ally.”
Not too long ago, he said “we identified and picked out about 17 young girls being trafficked across this corridor.
“As the girls were arriving, they kept gathering them on one side of the road.
“As the girls arrived in different buses, those guys controlling their movement would keep them with others.
“One of our guys suspected they were up to some sinister motives and drew our attention to them.
“When we approached them, one of them demanded to know what our business was with their movement. We apprehended the guys and beat them beyond recognition.
“They begged to give us money to end the matter but we refused, because we weren’t sure what they were up to with the girls.
“They were to hand over the girls to a woman in Cotonou. Fortunately, they had sufficient money, about N400, 000 on them.
“With that money, we facilitated the return of the girls back to their basis.
“Some of our guys followed them to Mile 2 to put them in night bus back to their states.”
Senyon regretted that “some of the girls have been so brainwashed that you can hardly advise them against their plan. No matter what you tell them, their mind is bent on embarking on that perilous journey.”
Other transporters share experience
Also attesting to the menace of human traffickers in the area, another transporter who gave his name as Ballo said: “Traffickers use this Badagry axis a great deal.
“Recently, we identified some young girls who were being trafficked. We sat in one of our parks and heard them saying ‘we have been here since and nobody is here to pick us’.
“The girls were within the age range of14 and 15 years. Some of them were just developing breasts.
“When we observed what was going on, I was touched, because some of us also have young girls like them as children.
“Why would anyone traffic such innocent young girls to do such dirty jobs?
“After thinking of what we could do, we tried searching for a police van stationed at the roundabout earlier.
“But when we saw that the officers had left, we called their office.
“By that time, the girls were seated, anxiously waiting for the next person in the chain of trafficking them.
“The police came and whisked them away.
“Three days after, the police brought them to our park to transport them to Mile 2 for onward journey to their various states.
“Before they brought them to us, it was like the police had counseled them about the perilous nature of the journey they had embarked on, because the girls looked calm and sober when they brought them to us.
Nigerians stranded in Nigerien desert as desperate human traffickers shift attention to northern states
He added that they made some young girls they caught recently to know that their traffickers did not mean well for them.
“One of them said they told them that they were going to work in a supermarket in the place they were being trafficked to, but we told her it is not true; that they were only taking them out for prostitution and at the end of the day, they would not return with anything but would only return to Nigeria with ailments.”
A motorcyclist, who operates around Owode area, said: “We have been witnessing human trafficking on this corridor for quite some time.”
The motorcyclist, who gave his name simply as Kola, said: “When some suspected victims come to our park and you seriously drill them, some of them will tell you they don’t know where they are going to; that they were just told that they were going to look for a job for them outside the country.
“When you ask them about the person that is taking them outside the country for a job, they will tell you they can’t find the person anymore.
“What we do in that regard is to take the person to the nearest security operatives’ office.”
Continuing, he said: “Recently, at about 11pm, a lady ran into a compound in our neighbourhood.
“People were about beating her, but when she explained her predicament, they stopped.
“She told us she refused to be trafficked and ran into the neighbourhood.
“When my attention was drawn to it, I took her to a security post around our area.”
Community members accuse immigration officers of complicity
Efforts to eradicate or bring to the barest minimum the menace of human trafficking may not yield the needed fruits anytime soon. This is as people living along the border area have accused immigration officials and other security agencies of aiding or being actively involved in the crime.
A Seme resident who preferred to be called Jato said the notoriety of immigration officials around Badagry roundabout became so embarrassing that the authorities ordered a bar where they parked to traffic people to chase them away or face the music.
“That brought about the placement of the bold Stop Human Trafficking inscription around the bar.”
The idea was to prevent them from continuing to use that place as a point of trafficking people.”
Jatto’s claim about the bold inscriptions was confirmed when our correspondent visited the Badagry roundabout.
The inscriptions were boldly and conspicuously displayed in front the bar on the side of the road to Mile 2.
Before now, Jatto said, “human traffickers used to hide young ladies they wanted to traffic at Ashipa area in Seme but with the full involvement of immigration officials in the illicit act now, it is no longer common to find young girls hidden in the area again.
“The officers use their clout to move them straight across the border instead of how regular human traffickers would initially keep the girls at Ashipa and environs waiting for signal before moving them to the other side of the border.”
Senyon, the transporter alleged that “Immigration officials go as far as Ojota to go and convey these girls. We have had issues with them on many occasion over their activities. There was one day they brought some girls who paid them N80,000 each in a Sienna bus from Seme. The girls were eight in number and they were heading to Mile 2. When the immigration guys got to Badagry, they decided to put them in an 18-passenger bus against the initial agreement that the Sienna would take them to Mile 2.
“The girls engaged the officers in a serious shouting match, saying that they paid N80,000 each to take us across the border and taken to Mile 2 but were dropped at Badagry Roundabout to put them in a regular bus. Ordinarily, the fare from Seme to Mile 2 is not more than N3000 but because they were using their uniforms to aid human trafficking, and exploit the victims, they charged the girls N80,000 each.
“Nobody stops them when they are moving people across the borders. The most they do is to tip their colleagues on duty. They are the ones that are heavily involved in human trafficking. The local guys involved in human trafficking are operating at a very low level compared to the large scale level immigration officials operate. People wishing to be trafficked also prefer to board vehicles driven by immigration officers because they believe that they are protected when conveyed by them. A good number of immigration officers in this axis have human trafficking as a huge source of revenue.
Another resident who gave his name as Johnson said: “In my border community, there’s an immigration checkpoint that should serve as a line of protection, but sadly, it has often become a place of fear and exploitation. There have been disturbing cases where immigration officers abuse their power — including sleeping with young female travelers under the guise of “clearance” or documentation, even when these women are traveling within Nigeria.
“It’s painful to witness, especially knowing that some of these women are simply trying to cross to nearby towns for trade, education, or family visits. Instead of being protected, they’re harassed and humiliated. This abuse of power fosters silence and discourages victims from speaking out.”
Johnson noted that these realities highlight the urgent need for reform, human rights training for officers, community awareness, and safe reporting systems. “We must continue to raise our voices and protect the dignity of our people, especially the most vulnerable.”
We’ll investigate allegations –NIS
The Nigeria Immigration Service says it will investigate all the allegations raised by residents.
The National spokesman of the service, Akinsola Akinlabi, disclosed this in his rfeply to our inquiries.
His words: “It is important to state here that Nigeria Immigration Service, under the leadership of the CGI Kemi Nanna Nandap has zero tolerance to any form of indiscipline, crime or criminalities among our officers and men. Again, the measures put in place by the Service are too formidable for our men to get involved in cases of Human Trafficking.
“As a matter fact, NIS only deal with cases of smuggling of migrants, which we effectively carry out within the framework of our border governance strategy deployed at all border frontiers.
“I want to assure you that the Service is going to investigate the cases referenced to enable us get to the bottom of the allegations.”
Beating up traffickers amounts to jungle justice —NAPTIP
Responding to our inquiry on what the agency is doing regarding the challenge of human trafficking along the Lagos-Seme border corridor, Press Officer of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Vincent Adekoye said: “I wish to point out that in line with its mandates, the Agency has established coordinated preventive, regulatory and investigatory machinery geared towards the eradication of trafficking in persons, not only within the areas mentioned, but across the country.
“The Agency has intensified collaboration with state and non-state actors, namely sister law enforcement Agencies, collaborating agencies of government, members of civil society organisations, community leaders and organised bodies within the Badagary and Seme border areas, as well as members of the border communities.
“Lagos State is one of the states with task forces on human trafficking, which is chaired by the Hon Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Lagos State, with the Zonal Commander of NAPTIP as Co-Chair.
“Impressively, this Task Force has been working tirelessly to address the situation. They have carried out a series of advocacy efforts to critical stakeholders along the said corridor.
“They have staged several enlightenment activities and created the required awareness to reduce the vulnerability of the people and to get the full support of all stakeholders.
“Bearing in mind the volume of traffic on that road and as one of the entry points to Nigeria, Operatives of NAPTIP have continued to carry out round-the-clock surveillance, and this has led to several interceptions of victims and the arrest of suspects.”
Adekoye said NAPTIP was not aware that some security operatives were aiding and compounding the menace of human trafficking. His words: “Human trafficking is a national concern, and the Agency believes that all organs of government, particularly the security agencies, are doing their best.
“They are working closely with NAPTIP to tackle the menace in the area.”
While commending non-state actors who said they have been rescuing victims, Adekoye said beating up traffickers amounts to jungle justice, which is against the Constitution of Nigeria. “While the Agency commends them for rescuing victims of human trafficking, suspects should be handed over to NAPTIP for prosecution.
“When they are prosecuted, it serves as a deterrent to others and assuages the pain of the victims. When they are prosecuted, the victim might get restitution.”
Responding to a question on how
NAPTIP can adequately deal with the menace since it does not have a post along the Badary/ border area, he said: “The agency has excellent working relationship with other sister law enforcement agencies along the axis.
“Since she assumed duty, the Director General of NAPTIP, Binta Adamu Bello, OON, has continued to work assiduously to strengthen relationships with partners, stakeholders and other actors in the space.
“This is done through advocacy, courtesy visits, strategic engagement and other informal interfaces.
“This strategy has resulted in joint operations along the area, interception of victims, disruption of activities of human traffickers, arrest of suspects as well as massive enlightenment that have reduced the vulnerability of the people along the axis.”
Nigeria renowned as country of citizenship for significant proportion of trafficking victims- IOM
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM), in its report titled ‘Profile of Nigerian Victims Of Human Trafficking Since 2017’, said Nigeria is renowned as the country of citizenship for a significant proportion of trafficking victims identified in Europe and other parts of the world.
From the data gathered for the report, the IOM said Nigeria serves as both a country of citizenship for victims of trafficking exploited abroad and a country of exploitation for Nigerian citizens trafficked internally within Nigeria, as well as individuals of other nationalities trafficked and exploited across international borders.
According to the report, “between 2017 and Q1 2024, IOM facilitated the voluntary return of 4,877 Victims of Trafficking (VOTs) holding Nigerian citizenship, among whom 616 (13%) were male and 4261 (87%). Women and girls constituted nearly 88% of these returnees across various age brackets. Following their return, IOM, in collaboration with key governmental entities, civil society organizations, and non-governmental actors, facilitated their reception and support. Upon arrival, immediate assistance, including medical care for individuals with varying degrees of health conditions, and psychosocial counseling aimed at fostering emotional, social, and cognitive capacities necessary for reintegration into the community, were provided. Additionally, vulnerability screening was done during the period.
“The analysis of age distributions, according to the report, consistently reveals a prevalence of youth victims across all age groups of which most are females.
“Notably, a substantial majority of the identified victims fall within the demographic range of 18 to 39 years, encompassing nearly 90% of the total victims.
“Specifically, the data emphasises the vulnerability of individuals aged between 18 and 25 to recruitment by traffickers, highlighting their increased susceptibility.
“Additionally, it’s worth noting that among the identified victims, 302 are minors, emphasising the concerning exploitation of individuals under the age of adult reasoning.”
Culled from The Nation
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