NIGERIA: UPDATED ASSESSMENT OF ANTI-TIP EFFORTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 ABUJA 000951 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/W, INR/AA, G/TIP-VZEITLIN BAGHDAD FOR DMCCULLOUGH E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/22/2019 TAGS: PHUM KTIP NI SUBJECT: NIGERIA: UPDATED ASSESSMENT OF ANTI-TIP EFFORTS REF: A. VZEITLIN-NTRIPPTREE 05/13/09 EMAIL ¶B. ABUJA 0326 ¶C. ABUJA 0290 ABUJA 00000951 001.5 OF 004 Classified By: Acting Political Counselor Geoffrey J. Martineau for rea sons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: In response to a request from G/TIP (ref A),Poloff met with a number of Abuja-based contacts involved in the fight against trafficking in persons (TIP) to get an updated assessment of the GON's progress, discuss the possibility of government complicity in human trafficking, and gather opinions on the performance of new Executive Sec of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) Simon Egede. Representatives from the International Organization on Migration (IOM) and ABA-Rule of Law Initiative (the USAID implementing partner for a three year USG-funded TIP program) praised the GON and NAPTIP for their efforts and progress made over the previous year. Representatives from the Women's Trafficking and Child Labor Eradication Foundation (WOTCLEF),Swiss Embassy, and NAPTIP all agreed that despite initial concerns about Egede, he was making "all the right moves" to maintain the reputation and effectiveness of NAPTIP and move the agency forward. All interlocutors refuted the possibility of GON or NAPTIP complicity with trafficking in persons, but could not rule out the possibility of lower level officials taking or requesting bribes. Both IOM and WOTCLEF agreed that NAPTIP needed additional capacity to investigate and convict trafficking kingpins, trace and seize assets, and crack organized crime rings within Nigeria and Western Europe. The overall assessment of GON efforts to combat TIP was positive and NAPTIP remained highly regarded as a reliable and transparent partner. End Summary. WOTCLEF -------------- ¶2. (C) On May 20, Poloff met with Veronica Umaru (protect), National Coordinator of the Women's Trafficking and Child Labor Eradication Foundation (WOTCLEF) to discuss Nigeria's progress on combating trafficking in persons (TIP). (Note: WOTCLEF was originally founded by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar's wife and was the organization responsible for the creation of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP). Umaru has been with the organization since its inception and runs a small shelter in Abuja. WOTCLEF also acts as the National Chair of the National Coalition Against Trafficking and Child Labor (NACTAL),a coalition of TIP NGOs throughout Nigeria. End Note.) Umaru said she was "particularly" pleased with the progress NAPTIP made over the past year and praised the agency for an increased number of convictions, its relationship with civil society, and its continued efforts on public enlightenment. When asked what made NAPTIP so successful despite the endemic corruption seen in a majority of institutions, Umaru suggested that NAPTIP was more transparent and reliable than others. Umaru said that NAPTIP's "strong leadership and highly visible partnerships" with a number of Western embassies and international partners created the "demand for accountability and acted as a deterrent against the risk of corruption" within the agency. Umaru also noted that the officers at NAPTIP were generally dedicated to the cause and since they did not rotate to other departments or positions as often as officers in other agencies, they were able to continually build their TIP-specific capacity. ¶3. (C) Umaru admitted that she had initial reservations about new Executive Secretary Simon Egede due to his relationship with Attorney General and Minister of Justice Michael Aondoakaa who removed the former Executive Secretary (ref B),but said she was slowly gaining confidence in his efforts. Umaru said that during his first three months at NAPTIP, Egede appeared "open to dialogue and interested in the issues" of TIP. Umaru added that Egede's "youth" (he is in his early 40s vs. the former secretary's age of 65) could be beneficial, as he seemed to have more energy than the former Executive Secretary. She also commended Egede for ABUJA 00000951 002.3 OF 004 "actively engaging with key stakeholders" and retaining all the senior staff at NAPTIP. According to Umaru, Egede often sought guidance from key staff members, consulted with former Executive Secretary Carol Ndaguba, and continually expressed great respect for the work of his predecessor and the agency. (Note: In three separate meetings with Poloff, Egede consistently praised Ndaguba and NAPTIP staff for all their achievements and promised continued progress in the future. End Note.) When asked if there were any ill feelings between Ndaguba and Aondoakaa over her forced retirement, Umaru replied that the AG had made efforts to keep Ndaguba involved, highlighting the fact that he appointed her as the Technical Advisor for the Board of Trustees overseeing the Victims Trust Fund (ref C). ¶4. (C) On the GON's overall involvement, Umaru said that the federal government had been increasingly supportive over the years. When asked about the possibility of complicity within the government, Umaru said it was unlikely on a large scale. She admitted that one could not rule out lower level officers taking or offering bribes occasionally, but she did not believe it was a pervasive problem specific to TIP. She added her doubts that the GON would support efforts to combat TIP if it could possibly "implicate someone powerful". She did admit that there were still areas for improvement, such as the need for increased capacity to convict TIP "kingpins" and the ability to better trace and seize assets. IOM --- ¶5. (C) On May 21, Poloff met with Tommaso De Cataldo (protect),Country Director of the International Organization on Migration (IOM),who has been in Nigeria for five years and worked very closely with both NAPTIP and the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) on TIP. While he suggested that NAPTIP had "a long way to go" in building their capacity for more high level investigations of "kingpins" in Nigeria and abroad, he did not believe the agency was in any way complicit with TIP or widespread corruption. De Cataldo said that many NGOs in Europe continued to believe allegations that NAPTIP was directly involved with trafficking despite the lack of evidence. According to De Cataldo this belief was attributed to the fact that NAPTIP had been unable to convict kingpins or crack the organized crime syndicates within Nigeria, especially those operating in Edo State. He admitted the possibility of people within the GON protecting the ringleaders of organized crime syndicates, but stressed his doubt that anyone at NAPTIP or within the GON was specifically involved in trafficking people. De Cataldo suggested that NAPTIP needed to work more closely with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate money laundering as that would likely lead to some of the same people operating TIP activities. He added that during his five years working with the Document Fraud Unit at NIS, he had never witnessed any evidence of complicity and praised NIS for making great progress. He could not exclude, however, the possibility of certain officers requesting or accepting bribes within the lower levels, especially at the airports and border posts. AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION -------------- ¶6. (C) Reed Slack (protect),former Chief of Party for the ABA-Rule of Law Initiative (the USAID implementing partner for a three year USG-funded TIP program that concluded in February),told Poloff on May 22 that during his three years working with NAPTIP, NIS, and Nigeria Police Force (NPF) officers on TIP, he had not seen any evidence of government collusion and commended all three agencies for their increased capacity and progress. Slack highlighted the fact that NAPTIP was only created five years ago and what it had accomplished in such a short time was "nothing short of amazing," especially considering that "shifting societal attitudes" towards trafficking remains a major obstacle. Slack said that NAPTIP's continual public enlightenment efforts and outreach to civil society was instrumental in increased awareness of TIP, which in turn developed greater support from the GON. Now working at the National Democratic ABUJA 00000951 003.7 OF 004 Institute in Nigeria, Slack suggested that the fight against TIP was one of the few areas where the GON had actually been successful. SWISS EMBASSY -------------- ¶7. (C) On May 25, Poloff met with Patricia Dvoracek (protect),First Secretary and Migration Advisor at the Swiss Embassy, who has been in Nigeria for two years working very closely with NAPTIP. Dvoracek said the Swiss Embassy had sponsored a number of training and victim assistance programs for NAPTIP and expressed praise for the agency's leadership and the officers at the zonal offices. Dvoracek frequently visited the zonal offices and shelters while doing program assessments and shared her satisfaction with NAPTIP's performance. Dvoracek said she never had any concerns about accountability or transparency with the programs the Swiss sponsored and added that NAPTIP had been one of their most productive partners in Nigeria. ¶8. (C) Dvoracek informed Poloff that she was working on an internal human rights report for the Swiss government and this year's report would be more critical than previous years, except for its assessment of the GON's effort to combat TIP, which was one area that saw progress. The only cause for concern, according to Dvoracek, was the "retirement" of former Executive Secretary Carol Ndaguba. Despite initial worries about new Executive Secretary Egede, Dvoracek said he seemed to be making "all the right moves" to maintain the reputation of NAPTIP. She added that as long as the current senior leadership remained at NAPTIP, the Swiss Embassy would continue to partner with the agency. If any of the key figures, such as Babandede, were to be "removed or reassigned" it would be a sign of trouble, according to Dvoracek. In the meantime, Dvoracek said that Egede had been accessible, frank, enthusiastic, and highly complimentary of NAPTIP's staff and former leader Ndaguba, which was "a good start". NAPTIP -------------- ¶9. (C) During the course of several conversations and meetings with Poloff throughout May, Muhammad Babandede (protect),Director of Investigations and Monitoring, expressed an increased level of comfort with new Executive Sec Simon Egede, despite initial reservations (ref B). Babandede stressed that he had not witnessed any evidence of corruption or wrong-doing by Egede, but he would continue to monitor operations within the agency. When asked about Egede's relationship to Minster of Justice and Attorney General Michael Aondoakaa, Babandede said that their friendship had actually worked in the agency's favor as of late. He said that NAPTIP was being forced to vacate the premises of its Lagos shelter because the State Security Service (SSS) wanted the property back (the SSS leased the property to NAPTIP in conjunction with IOM) and needed to find new facilities by November 1. Aondoakaa apparently gave NAPTIP permission to purchase its own property despite a current freeze on capital purchases and allotted them 50 million naira ($340,000) to put towards the purchase, in large part due to his association with Egede. OVERALL ASSESSMENT: POSITIVE -------------- ¶10. (C) Comment: While post continues to be apprehensive about Egede's relationship with Aondoakaa, it is encouraging to hear positive reports from stakeholders on his performance thus far. The fact that former Executive Secretary Ndaguba remains involved with the agency eases concerns, as does the retention of senior leadership. We hope this will assist NAPTIP in maintaining its successful and transparent reputation. We will continue to maintain a close working relationship with NAPTIP and Egede in order to monitor progress or any signs of decreased effectiveness. Overall, the GON's support of anti-TIP efforts should be commended, especially as it is one of the few areas where we have seen continued success over the past year. End Comment. ABUJA 00000951 004.3 OF 004 ¶11. (U) This cable was coordinated with Consulate Lagos. SANDERS