NIGERIA: NAPTIP SEES RISE IN INTERNATIONAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LAGOS 000394

SIPDIS

STATE FOR AF/W,
STATE FOR G/TIP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10 YEARS
TAGS: PGOV PHUM NI
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: NAPTIP SEES RISE IN INTERNATIONAL
TRAFFICKING, CLOSES LAGOS BROTHELS

Classified By: CONSUL GENERAL DONNA BLAIR FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D).


1. (SBU) Summary: In a September 17 meeting, an official
from the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking
in Persons and Other Related Matters (NAPTIP) told PolOff the
current increase in international trafficking parallels an
increase in sophistication of the traffickers; insufficient
funding hampers an adequate NAPTIP response. On July 8, the
Lagos branch of NAPTIP closed two brothels in the Lagos area.
Lengthy court processes, typical of NAPTIP's uphill legal
battle and the Nigerian court system, continue. End summary.

More International Trafficking, Desperation Seen
-------------- ---


2. (C) Godwin Morka, head of the Lagos NAPTIP office, told
PolOff September 17 that his office has noticed a shift in
the trafficking patterns and techniques over the past year.
Traffickers are increasing their use of forged documents such
as passports, entry and exit stamps, identification documents
and papers used to trick victims into believing they will be
engaged in legitimate employment. Morka also reported that
victims seem increasingly desperate for employment. "Times
seem to be getting worse rather than better," he said.
Finally, Morka reported that more victims are traveling to
international destinations compared with last year. Morka,
with the Ondo State Ministry of Women's Affairs, was
conducting outreach in Ore and surrounding towns through
traditional councils, women's groups, and others, to raise
awareness of trafficking in their area. Ore lies on the road
between Benin City in Edo State, a key source for victims,
and Lagos, one of the main transit and destination points.


3. (C) Morka said NAPTIP is overwhelmed with work and remains
inadequately funded. He claimed the entire NAPTIP budget is
smaller than the catering budget for the Presidential Villa.
NAPTIP officials continue to face significant challenges, and
Morka complained that police and immigration officers are not
aware of, or concerned about, their own role in preventing
and identifying trafficking. To add to its problems, in July
the Lagos NAPTIP office received reports of people
impersonating NAPTIP officers and demanding protection money
from brothels. Morka emphatically stated his officers are
not corrupt.

Brothel Closure Required Coordination, Time
--------------


4. (C) Morka said that closing two local brothels took an
great deal of effort. The court cases dragged on because of
the slow Nigerian legal system and the efforts of well-funded
defense teams representing the brothel owners. As the lead
agency, it fell to NAPTIP to push the legal case through,
coordinate the police, the workers, the courts, and the
media, and to plan raids and closures with relevant agencies.
In previous cases, Morka said police tipped off suspects to
an impending investigation when they were included in the
planning stages, but the brothel closures were not impacted.
It took NAPTIP three years of court battles before the court
ordered one of the brothels, the Aimasiko Hotel, closed. A
case over the Crown Hotel begun in 2006 is still pending,
though the brothel itself was also closed in July.


5. (SBU) Morka told PolOff that the residents around the
brothels were grateful for the closures, thanking one of the
NAPTIP officers for finally taking action. (Note: Raids in
the past have not been received as warmly in other
neighborhoods, where residents fear both law enforcement
officials and the traffickers themselves. End note.)

NAPTIP Success Story: Aimasiko Hotel
--------------


5. (SBU) In May 2005, 27 teenage girls were rescued by NAPTIP
from Aimasiko Hotel in Ogba, following a tip by a member of
the public. The girls, aged between ten and seventeen, had
been recruited by aging prostitutes from villages in Eket and
Oron areas of Akwa Ibom State, ostensibly to work in
supermarkets or as nannies, in Lagos, but in reality to work

LAGOS 00000394 002 OF 002


as prostitutes. Upon arrival in Ogba, the girls were locked
in the hotel and beaten by the older prostitutes and brothel
owners when they resisted. Twenty were recruited while home
on school holiday; one had nearly completed secondary school.
The remaining seven had been forced to quit school because
their parents were too poor to afford school fees. (Note:
Headmasters of even free public schools often demand a bribe
from parents to enroll their children. End note.) The girls
had spent between four and thirteen months as prostitutes,
earning an average of 60,000 naira a day (USD 513.00) for
their bosses while keeping only 300 naira (USD 2.56) for
themselves.

NAPTIP Success Story: Crown Hotel
--------------


6. (SBU) December 31 2006, a fifteen-year-old girl escaped
from the Crown Hotel in Lagos and begged a passerby for help;
the citizen contacted NAPTIP. Twelve girls between twelve
and seventeen years of age were rescued from the hotel. Two
were pregnant, and six tested positive for HIV. On July 17,
2007, the Federal High Court ordered the hotel seized and
closed. The owner, manager, and three madams were arrested,
charged, and released; the court cases are still pending.


7. (C) Comment: NAPTIP is overwhelmed with work and severely
under-funded. Its staff soldiers on despite the odds.
Brothel closures have been especially important in gaining
for NAPTIP more prominent national recognition of their
mandate and their effectiveness. But without a budget
increase, few traffickers will be caught, prosecuted and
imprisoned, and few victims will be rescued. End Comment.


8. (U) This cable has been cleared by Embassy Abuja.
BLAIR