An Analysis of the Legal Framework for Combatting Human Trafficking in Nigeria: Prospects and Challenges for Inter-Agency Co-Operation

Human trafficking has been one of the scourges of Nigerian society since pre-colonial times. Prior to the advent of colonial rule, different Nigerian cultures had practiced human trafficking in diverse forms like child labour, slavery and forced labour. With the trans-Saharan and trans-Atlantic slave trades, human trafficking assumed the form of export of human beings to work as slaves in foreign lands. Although the advent of the industrial revolution in the 18^th century saw to the abolition of the trans-Atlantic slave trade in 1807, various forms of human trafficking persisted in Nigeria during colonial rule facilitated mainly by cultural practices. In contemporary times, human trafficking has leveraged the opportunities afforded by the internet and digital spaces to source for victims online. The growing and ambulatory nature of human trafficking today demands the synergy and cooperation of law enforcement agencies to combat it. This paper examines the legal framework for combatting human trafficking in Nigeria and the impact of the interface of the various agencies dedicated to its eradication. The paper argues that although the principal agency dedicated to the war against human trafficking in Nigeria is the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), other security and law enforcement agencies like the police and Immigration Service are also involved in varying degrees in the anti-human trafficking effort. The paper scrutinizes the degree to which inter-agency cooperation or the lack of it is impacting on the success or failure of Nigeria’s anti-human trafficking campaign. Adopting the doctrinal research methodology, the paper finds that although the agencies involved in the fight against human trafficking are favourably disposed to working together in the counter-human trafficking campaign, there are many factors militating against the success of such collaboration. Some of these factors include paucity of funds, inadequate personnel training and corruption and official complicity. The paper concludes with recommendations for the remediation of the identified challenges. The recommended solutions include incorporation of the national anti-corruption programme into the counter-human trafficking campaign, improved budgetary allocations to counter-human trafficking agencies and operations and centralized training and capacity building programmes for all the counter-human trafficking agencies and personnel in the country.