By Opeyemi Adelakun
The United States has identified persistent human trafficking challenges in Nigeria, highlighting alleged official complicity, weak victim protection and the continued use of children by terrorist groups.
The concerns were outlined in the US Department of State’s 2026 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, which assessed developments between April 1, 2025, and March 31, 2026.
Nigeria remained on Tier 2, a classification for countries whose governments do not fully meet the minimum standards for eliminating trafficking but are making significant efforts towards compliance.
The country was also listed under the Child Soldiers Prevention Act, alongside Afghanistan, Myanmar, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Iran, Russia, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Venezuela and Yemen.
The designation may affect certain categories of US military assistance, including international military education and training, foreign military financing and some defence-related transfers, unless a presidential waiver applies.
The report said corruption and alleged official complicity remained significant obstacles to tackling trafficking in Nigeria.
It criticised the government for not reporting investigations, prosecutions or convictions of government employees allegedly involved in trafficking crimes during the period under review. It also said the government did not provide details of action taken against officials implicated in earlier years.
Victim support was another major concern. The report said 675 trafficking victims received assistance in 2025, down from 2,058 in 2024, while services for male victims remained particularly limited.
It also questioned restrictions imposed on residents of NAPTIP shelters and the requirement for some victims to cooperate with law enforcement to obtain certain protective services.
The report further alleged that some women who had suffered forced marriages involving Boko Haram were compelled to return to their insurgent husbands at demobilisation centres in Borno State.
The US report said Boko Haram and ISWAP continued to recruit, abduct and use children as young as 12, including as cooks, domestic workers, spies, messengers, guards and combatants. It also identified children being used in suicide bombings.
On labour exploitation, the report raised concerns about worker-paid recruitment fees, inadequate accountability for fraudulent recruiters and limited specialised training for labour inspectors.
It also highlighted the operation of so-called baby factories, which are often disguised as orphanages, maternity homes or religious centres. According to the report, women are held against their will, sexually assaulted and forced to give birth, with their babies subsequently sold.
Other reported forms of exploitation include forced labour in agriculture, mining, quarrying, domestic work, textile production, street vending and begging. The report also identified alleged exploitation of boys attending Quranic schools and forced marriages involving women and girls.
Concerns were raised about foreign nationals allegedly subjected to exploitation in Nigeria, as well as Nigerians reportedly recruited to fight in the Russia-Ukraine war. The report also referred to concerns surrounding Russia’s Alabuga Start programme.
Despite the concerns, the report acknowledged that Nigeria recorded progress in prosecuting trafficking cases and funding victim services.
Authorities investigated 1,341 cases involving 1,367 suspects in 2025, prosecuted 94 suspects and secured 97 convictions. In 2024, the country recorded 744 investigations, 71 prosecutions and 49 convictions.
Funding for victim services increased to N233 million in 2025 from N128 million, while prevention funding rose to N245 million from N58.8 million.
The report also cited the creation of a police cybercrime unit to address online scams, cooperation with foreign authorities and INTERPOL, the identification of 2,004 victims and the repatriation of 428 Nigerians exploited abroad.
Other measures included restitution for 14 victims, continued implementation of the 2022–2026 National Action Plan, operation of an anti-trafficking hotline and the presence of anti-trafficking task forces in 23 states.
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