CONGRESSMAN CHRISTOPHER SMITH REVIEWS LAGOS ANTI-TIP

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LAGOS 000190 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR AF/W STATE FOR AF/RA STATE FOR INR/AA STATE FOR G/TIP STATE FOR H E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM EAID ELAB PHUM SOCI KWMN SMIG KCRM NI SUBJECT: CONGRESSMAN CHRISTOPHER SMITH REVIEWS LAGOS ANTI-TIP EFFORTS AND THE EDO-ITALY TRAFFICKING CONNECTION REF: 05 LAGOS 1955 LAGOS 00000190 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (U) Summary: Nigeria Trafficking in Persons (TIP) experts told Congressman Christopher Smith during his February 22-24 visit to Lagos that rehabilitation of TIP victims needs more resources and funding. Efforts in Lagos to work with TIP victims have been overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of victims. The National Agency for Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and Other Related Matters (NAPTIP) shelter in Lagos, the center of rehabilitation efforts, is an edifice in dire need of repair. End Summary. -------------- -------------- Lagos TIP Network Struggles Under Trafficking Burden -------------- -------------- ¶2. (U) At a dinner hosted by the Consul General, Congressman Smith met and discussed trafficking issues with Italian Consul General Maurizio Bungaro, National Agency for Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and Other Related Matters (NAPTIP) Lagos Zonal Head Godwin Morka, Women's Consortium of Nigeria (WOCON) Executive Director Bisi Olateru-Olagbegi, and Media Concern for Women and Children Director Princess Olufemi-Kayode. Congressman Smith expressed interest in the Edo State-Italy trafficking connection. He plans to push for more support for the shelter, he told the group. ¶3. (U) The Italian Consul General said trafficking of Nigerians to Italy had become a serious problem. At one time Nigerians traveled to Italy for legitimate business purposes or for holidays. In the 1990s, however, Nigeria experienced a series of economic and political crises, and the nature of travel to Italy changed. Instead, Nigerians began to traffic women to Italy for prostitution. These women came largely from Edo State. Italy has found it difficult to cope with the large influx of trafficked persons into the country. The Government of Italy supports the efforts of the Catholic Church and nongovernmental organizations to rehabilitate victims. ¶4. (U) NAPTIP Lagos Zonal Head Morka told the Congressman that NAPTIP is inadequately funded to prosecute traffickers. Investigators lack funds for transportation, food and lodging and as a result are unable to do their jobs adequately. Morka pointed out that USAID had given them a vehicle but specified it could only be used to transport TIP victims, and not for NAPTIP officials in their enforcement roles. Morka said the government has increased funding for NAPTIP but the budget is still inadequate to meet the need. ¶5. (U) Morka also said TIP victims in Europe are often treated as criminals and deported as quickly as possible. Traffickers will often tip off the local police to deport the girls if they escape or are no longer useful for prostitution. ¶6. (U) WOCON Director Olagbegi told the Congressman that trafficking victims needed visas so they can remain in the country to which they were trafficked to finish their rehabilitation. Immediate deportation results in victims experiencing difficulty readjusting to society and often return to the very life that led to them being trafficked in the first place. Olagbegi is not sure why Edo State is such a beehive for trafficking; she suspects, however, that historical factors and social attitudes, compounded by economic hardship, are key to understanding this unfortunate fact. -------------- Visit to Lagos NAPTIP Shelter -------------- ¶7. (U) NAPTIP Lagos Zone Head Godwin Morka led Congressman Smith on a tour of the Lagos NAPTIP shelter and training facility. The shelter was initially funded by a joint USAID/Italian grant to the International Organization of Migration (IOM). The Nigerian government donated the building, formerly used by the Secret Security Service (SSS). After IOM refurbished and dedicated the building in 2004, IOM transferred management of the shelter to NAPTIP. ¶8. (U) Morka said that since 2004, 532 TIP victims have passed through the shelter. Shelter residents stay from two weeks to six months, depending on how quickly NAPTIP can obtain their testimony against their traffickers and repatriate the girls home. The trafficked girls often come from neighboring Benin, Togo, and other ECOWAS countries. The training facility includes hairdressing and sewing machines. Often the trafficked girls have experience as LAGOS 00000190 002.2 OF 002 hairdressers and will do each other's hair. To aid the victims psychologically, the shelter has ten counselors trained by NAPTIP. ¶9. (U) Morka pointed out the shelter lacked a yard where residents can be outside; shelter residents are confined inside 24 hours a day. Many of the TIP victims arrive with STDs and some are HIV positive, requiring NAPTIP to provide additional health care. ¶10. (U) Although only three years old, the facility had poor wiring and plumbing. Morka said that last year some shelter residents had badly damaged beds and doors, which NAPTIP has been unable to replace. The shelter itself needs complete rewiring and plumbing, but NAPTIP lacks the funds for this job, according to Morka. Last year the shelter experienced an electrical fire caused by faulty wiring. IOM promised to cover the loss with insurance proceeds but did not do so. The shelter receives funding but relies on UNICEF to provide daily needs such as food and training equipment. At the end of the visit, the Congressman thanked Morka for his efforts with the shelter and asked him to provide a list of the shelter's needs and forward the request to his office. ¶11. (U) Congressman Smith cleared this cable. BROWNE