Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08ABUJA2312
2008-11-26 07:26:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Abuja
Cable title:  

NIGERIA: TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS UPDATE

Tags:  PHUM PGOV KTIP NI 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO9893
PP RUEHPA
DE RUEHUJA #2312/01 3310726
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 260726Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY ABUJA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4542
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 1517
RUEHYD/AMEMBASSY YAOUNDE 0504
RUEHOS/AMCONSUL LAGOS 0326
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 ABUJA 002312 

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/W, INR/AA
G/TIP FOR VERONICA ZEITLIN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/28/2018
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KTIP NI
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS UPDATE

REF: A. LAGOS 430

B. ABUJA 1950

Classified By: Political Counselor Walter Pflaumer for reasons 1.4. (b
& d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 ABUJA 002312

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/W, INR/AA
G/TIP FOR VERONICA ZEITLIN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/28/2018
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KTIP NI
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS UPDATE

REF: A. LAGOS 430

B. ABUJA 1950

Classified By: Political Counselor Walter Pflaumer for reasons 1.4. (b
& d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Poloff attended the National Agency for the
Prohibition of Trafficking In Persons (NAPTIP) 13th National
Stakeholder's Consultative Forum in Abuja on October 30.
Representatives from various civil society organizations; the
Nigeria Police Force; Nigerian Customs; Nigeria Immigration
Service; UNODC; and diplomatic representatives from
Switzerland, France, and Italy attended to present updates on
progress made during the period of May - September 2008.
NAPTIP Director of Investigations, and second in command,
Muhammad Babandede, informed stakeholders about a Joint
Benin/Nigerian Consultative Forum November 2-6 in Lagos,
where representatives from Nigeria, Benin Republic, Congo,
Gabon, and Togo presented country progress reports on their
respective fights against Trafficking in Persons (TIP) and
developed a collaborative way forward. NAPTIP Executive
Secretary Carol Ndaguba announced that on August 20, the
Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the National Plan of
Action (NPA) for TIP, which was initially drafted in 2006.
On November 12, after only a few months of review, the FEC
also approved the National Policy on Protection and
Assistance to Victims of Human Trafficking, which focuses
more on strategies to rehabilitate victims and protect them
from retribution, whereas the NPA is a broad framework that
covers prevention, prosecution, and public awareness. The
recent passage of these policies leads some to believe the
federal government is ready to take TIP issues seriously,
while it may also be due to the upcoming UN Human Rights
Council Universal Periodic Review (UPR). END SUMMARY.

STAKEHOLDER UPDATES
--------------

2. (U) NAPTIP: During NAPTIP's 13th Stakeholder's
Consultative Forum in Abuja on October 30, Director of
Investigations Muhammad Babandede, reported that NAPTIP
rescued 109 victims, while the NIS rescued 141, between May
and September. Babandede added that NAPTIP successfully
convicted 20 traffickers during the same period and indicated
that there were currently 66 cases still pending. Babandede

highlighted that of the 457 total victims rescued by all
agencies (including NPF and Civil Defense) from May to
September, the highest concentration were from Edo State.
Babandede stressed that Benin City still produces the highest
number of trafficking victims in Nigeria.


3. (U) NIGERIA IMMIGRATION SERVICE: A representative from
NIS reported that on September 10, a young Nigerian girl was
rescued at the Abuja International Airport and was being
rehabilitated at a shelter run by the NGO Women Trafficking &
Child Labor Eradication Foundation (WOTCLEF). NIS also
shared details about the September 14 rescue of 22 victims
and arrest of one suspect in Sokoto. The victims and suspect
were all handed over to NAPTIP for rehabilitation and
investigation.


4. (U) NIGERIA POLICE FORCE: Saluna Mutuah, Deputy Director
of the Anti-TIP Unit at the NPF headquarters in Abuja
reported that the unit had trained 400 officers on the
handling of TIP cases.


5. (U) WOTCLEF: Women Trafficking & Child Labor Eradication
Foundation (WOTCLEF) National Coordinator Veronica Umaru
informed stakeholders that WOTCLEF provided skills training
for 185 at-risk girls in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT)
in their choice of hairdressing, tailoring, or catering.
According to Umaru, WOTCLEF also continued to do awareness
outreach by visiting churches to educate mothers about the
dangers of trafficking. Umaru added that WOTCLEF was working
with the American Bar Association to translate the Child
Rights Act into the Hausa and Yoruba languages, in hopes of
encouraging better understanding and passage of the Act in
the states that have yet to ratify the law. (Note: Out of 36
states, only 20 plus the Federal Capital Territory have
ratified the Act. End Note)

ABUJA 00002312 002 OF 004




6. (U) NIGER STATE: A representative of the Niger State
Commissioner for Women's Affairs said that the state
government increased funding to address the issue of the
"almajiri" children with the integration of Koranic studies
into general education. (Note: In Northern Nigeria, there
are an estimated 2 million almajiri, or children whose
parents sent them to live and study with an Islamic teacher.
Instead of receiving shelter and an education, the children
are forced to beg for money that is turned over to their
"teachers" and they end up living on the streets. End Note.)
The Niger State representative noted that the Commission was
still actively pressing for passage of the Child Rights Act
in the state legislature.


7. (U) EBONYI STATE: A representative from the Ebonyi State
Ministry of Women's Affairs reported on the state's public
education efforts, such as jingles aired on the local radio
warning people about the dangers of trafficking and a
billboard posted in a strategic location. She added however,
that although the state working group was not functional, the
Civil Defense Corps showed willingness to cooperate. (Note:
According to NAPTIP, 22 states have established anti-TIP
working groups that include members of local government,
NGOs, and law enforcement agencies. These groups are
supposed to meet monthly and collaborate on anti-TIP efforts.
In a majority of states, however, participation has waned
over the past year. End Note.)


8. (U) ENUGU STATE: A representative for the Commissioner of
Gender Affairs reported on the state's work to streamline the
adoption process in an effort to stop illegal adoptions
through "baby farms" and maternity homes (ref A). Similar to
Ebonyi State, the representative reported that the anti-TIP
state working group was not holding meetings.

FEC APPROVES NATIONAL ACTION PLANS
--------------

9. (C) During the Stakeholder's forum, NAPTIP Executive
Secretary Carol Ndaguba, announced that on August 20 the
Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the National Plan of
Action (NPA) for Trafficking In Persons which was initially
presented to the FEC in 2006 by former President Obasanjo,
but never approved. Ndaguba stressed the importance of
stakeholders actively participating in the implementation of
the NPA now that it had been approved. During a meeting on
November 13, Babandede informed Poloff that on November 12,
the FEC also approved the National Policy on Protection and
Assistance to Victims of Human Trafficking after only a few
months of review. The Policy on Protection and Assistance to
Victims focuses more on strategies to rehabilitate victims
and protect them from retribution, whereas the NPA is a broad
framework that covers prevention, prosecution, and public
awareness to combat TIP. According to Babandede, the FEC's
rapid approval of the Victim's Assistance policy, in
conjunction with the long awaited approval of the NPA on TIP,
demonstrated that the federal government was finally taking
TIP seriously. (Comment: The GON has made a lot of movement
on human rights issues in the past few months. November 20,
the FEC also approved the legal framework for a bill to
prohibit discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS and on
November 26 the House of Representatives will conduct a
public hearing on the People With Disabilities Bill. Despite
passage of such policies, there are no implementation
strategies in place, without which there will be minimal
progress. The Child Rights Act for instance was approved in
2003 and the federal government has yet to make any
significant progress in combating child labor. End Comment.)

NAPTIP CELEBRATES ITS 5TH ANNIVERSARY
--------------

10. (U) To celebrate its 5th Anniversary, NAPTIP organized
the first National Awareness Week July 30 through August 8
(ref B). The theme for the week was "Kick Out Modern
Slavery" (KOMS) and included activities such as a press
conference, charity walk, Presidential Launch of the Red Card
to Trafficking, Benefit Dinner, and Launch of Victims Trust
Fund, which was established to assist victims with
rehabilitation. At the stakeholder's meeting, Babandede

ABUJA 00002312 003 OF 004


announced that the Victims Trust Fund raised 1.5 million
naira ($13,000) during the awareness week thanks to donations
from the Dutch Embassy, Afribank, Oceanic, Access, 7UP,
UNODC/UN GIFT, and UNICEF. (Note: In addition to donations,
the fund will also benefit from the sale of confiscated
properties and seized assets of convicted traffickers. End
Note.) Babandede added that the Red Card is a tool that was
used successfully by ILO in other countries to combat child
labor, and NAPTIP hopes its implementation in Nigeria will
assist in the fight against TIP as well. Over one million of
the informational cards were distributed throughout the
country as part of Phase I. Phase II involves the state and
local governments to replicate the effort for a more
grassroots approach.

V-SAT & SOLAR POWER AT THE MONITORING CENTER
--------------

11. (U) On September 4, NAPTIP, in association with the
American Bar Association - Rule of Law Initiative (ABA-ROLI),
commissioned a TIP database, V-SAT (satellite),and solar
power project (ref B). The main database at NAPTIP
headquarters is linked by the V-SAT to all six NAPTIP zonal
offices as well as NPF and NIS offices. The main server is
solar powered, providing 24-hour access and operational
capacity despite frequent power outages. Stakeholders from
the NAPTIP zonal offices reported that they received training
on how to utilize the new database. The NPF, however, said
that their TIP unit office in Abuja was still waiting for the
installation of necessary software.

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
--------------

12. (U) After NAPTIP's participation in Operation Koolvis
resulted in the arrest of 60 Nigerian traffickers (ref B),
NAPTIP continued working with law enforcement officials from
the Netherlands, France, Norway, Italy, Sweden, Ghana and the
UK. On November 2, NAPTIP officials in collaboration with
the Benin Republic organized a four day Consultative Forum on
TIP in Lagos. Representatives from Congo, Gabon, and Togo
also attended the event and presented country progress
reports on TIP within their respective countries. One
session, led by Babandede, addressed ways for all five
countries to collaborate on investigations and TIP issues.
The workshop culminated in two plans of action: the 2009
Benin/Nigeria Joint Plan of Action and the 2009
Zakpota/Abeokuta Plan of Action to address the trafficking of
children across the borders between Nigeria and the Benin
Republic.

CONSTRAINTS AND CHALLENGES
--------------

13. (U) Babandede stated that the main obstacle NAPTIP still
faced was limited finances for investigations, public
education programs, and victim care and support. Babandede
added that minimal commitment from State and Local Government
as well as the slow pace of the judicial system also
exacerbated the situation. According to Babandede, the fine
line between smuggling and trafficking further complicated
matters since smuggling of migrants had yet to be
criminalized. Stakeholders all agreed that the GON's
domestication of the UN Convention on the Smuggling of
Migrants was a priority due to the increasing number of boys
being smuggled to Europe under the guise of a football
(soccer) career.


14. (C) COMMENT: While welcome, the large turnout at these
stakeholder meetings does not yet amount to increased
collaboration. State level commitment is low, suggesting the
need for more grassroots programming. Until that time,
relying on the local governments to push initiatives such as
the new Red Card, will not likely cause significant change.
NAPTIP, however, continues to make strong efforts, despite
lack of funding and resources, to prosecute more traffickers
and sensitize the public to TIP. The fact that they can draw
so many interested parties to these forums is a testament to
the work they are doing. If, however, these meetings
occurred more than twice a year, they might actually help
create a more cohesive working group. END COMMENT.


ABUJA 00002312 004 OF 004



15. (C) COMMENT CON'T: The GON appears to be making a
concerted effort to address human rights issues. These
efforts, however, are likely in preparation for Nigeria's
forthcoming Universal Periodic Review before the UN Human
Rights Council. The true test will be whether the GON can
implement the policies, and if they continue to address the
issues after the UPR. END COMMENT.


16. (U) This cable was coordinated with Consulate Lagos.
Sanders