TOM ELLIS

Principal Lecturer, Institute of Criminal Justice Studies,

University of Portsmouth

JAMES AKPALA
Former Masters student, Institute of Criminal Justice Studies,
University of Portsmouth

MAKING SENSE OF THE

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS,
HUMAN SMUGGLING, AND
ORGANISED CRIME: THE CASE
OF NIGERIA
Trade in human beings, and Nigerias role in it, is a contested
area. This article first sets out to provide an integrated picture,
from the varied academic and policy output, of human trafficking and smuggling, focused on a market picture that is able to
incorporate both genders and diverse forms of exploitation,
i.e., forced labour, prostitution and domestic servitude. It then
outlines how organised crime operates under this model in the
specific Nigerian context. Finally, the article reports the main
results of a small exploratory study carried out with Nigerian
law enforcement officers who work on the front line in tackling
trafficking and smuggling.
Keywords: human smuggling; human trafficking; law
enforcement; Nigeria; organised crime

Introduction
Trafficking in persons has become more widespread and complex since the end of the Cold War (Truong & Angeles, 2005: 1),
forming what Morrison and Crosland (2000: 5) described as the
dark side of globalisation, with a disproportionate impact on
third world countries ( Parent & Bruckert, 2002: 4). International
Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates suggest that global profits
from trafficking in persons were around $31.6 billion annually
(United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNDOC), 2008: 96)
and the United Nations estimates show the profit from trading in
human beings ranks among the top three revenue sources for
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DOI: 10.1358/pojo.2011.84.1.507

13

organised crime, after trafficking in narcotics and weapons (US

Department of State (USDS), 2004, cited in Smit, 2004: 256).
The article first gives some background and context to
human trafficking and smuggling in general and establishes what
we hope is an integrated set of definitions. We then develop our
model of the relationship between trafficking, smuggling and
organised crime, and define the three key markets involved in
exploiting human capital, before moving on to outline how this
model operates in the Nigerian context, including both internal
and trans-border operations. The final section of the article
reports the main results of a small exploratory study we carried
out with Nigerian law enforcement officers who work on the
front line in tackling trafficking and smuggling.
Background and Context
Trafficking in Nigeria can be viewed from a migration perspective, as both legal and illegal forms of migration are driven
by the same factors. The shift is always from more economically
disadvantaged regions to those which are economically more
secure. Even within Nigeria, internal trafficking from rural areas
to metropolitan areas is common (UNODC, 2006a: 29). An
estimated 83% of child victims were trafficked internally for
exploitation in: domestic service; street trading; commercial sex
work; labour on plantations; work in construction, quarries and
mines; and drug trading (Dave-Odegie, 2008: 65).
Since the 1990s, due to lack of opportunity at home, crossborder trafficking has also increased from Nigeria (Onyejekwe,
2005: 144). Nigerian migrants are driven by a range of push
factors to seek the services of traffickers or smugglers, e.g.
poverty, lack of education, lack of parental care, poor social
services, traditional practices and a desire for a higher standard
of living (Maicibi, 2008: 4). Young Nigerians are treated as
commodities to be bought and sold in markets as diverse as
the sex industry, forced agricultural labour and sweatshops
(Nalyvayko, 2006: 8).
Definitions
The failure of organisations and states to agree on the definition
of concepts like trafficking smuggling and organised crime
is a major hurdle in dealing effectively with them. Parent and
Bruckert (2002: 5) have collected the plethora of terms used in
different relevant fields of study, e.g. alien smuggling, trafficking
of aliens, illegal migrant smuggling, human trafficking, traffick14

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ing in persons, trade in human beings and commodification of

human beings. The lack of coherent definitions reflects the fact
that this is still an under-researched area where no comprehensive studies have been carried out. A clear analysis and
agreed statement of the different types of trafficking and trafficked migrants have therefore become essential.
First, trafficking in persons and human smuggling are both
forms of irregular migration and this can be within national
borders, across them or both, in a staged process. Focusing on
only trans-border trafficking means that important parts of the
trade in human beings are missed. Second, Parent and Bruckert
(2002: 4) argue that the conceptualisation of trafficking by some
scholars rules out any form of autonomy on the part of those who
are trafficked, due to a narrow focus on testimony from trafficked women from various parts of the world who exhibit high
levels of fear, leading some researchers to call for separate
definition of this aspect of illegal migration (Salt, 2000: 34). For
instance, working in the sex industry is rejected as ever being an
acceptable way to earn a living, while other forms of trafficking
in the domestic, agricultural and textile sectors or with respect to
mail-order brides and human organs are completely ignored
(Ruggiero, 1997; Richards, 2004; Truong, 2001, cited by Parent
and Bruckert, 2002: 4). We are not arguing that the sexual
exploitation of women should be downgraded, but rather that all
human trafficking studies should take into account the much
broader migration of workers, both male and female, because
otherwise many of the markets that drive trafficking in persons
will be missed, as will opportunities to tackle them. The most
important factor here is that organised crime is unlikely to
respect such tight definitions in its constant evolution.
The United Nations has already offered a more systematic
approach, perhaps due to its focus on enforcement, which goes
some way to developing an integrated understanding of the
various forms of trafficking and smuggling within an overall
context of organised crime. We have therefore summarised
below, in Figure 1, the elements of Article 3 of the UN
Convention against Organised Crime (2000) (also referred to as
the Palermo Convention), which are key to our approach.
Although both trafficking in persons and human smuggling
within and outside Nigeria require same level of organised
crime, and UNODC (2006b: 51) argues that smuggled illegal
migrants are often exposed to similar cases of danger or discomfort during the long journeys as trafficked victims, the above
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Trafficking in
persons

Recruitment, transportation, transfer,

harbouring, or receipt of persons, by
means of threat, use of force, or other
forms of coercion such as abduction,
fraud, deception, abuse of power of a
position of vulnerability including the
giving or receiving of payments or
benefit to achieve the consent of a
person having control over another
person, for the purpose of exploitation.

Exploitation

Prostitution of others or other forms of

sexual exploitation, forced labour or
services, slavery or practices similar to
slavery, servitude or the removal of
organs.

Human
smuggling

Procurement, in order to obtain directly

or indirectly, a financial or other
material benefit, of the illegal entry of a
person into a State Party of which the
person is not a National or Permanent
Resident.

Organised
criminal
groups

A structured group of three or more

persons existing for a period of time and
acting in concert with the aim of
committing one or more serious crimes
or offences, in order to obtain, directly
or indirectly, a financial or other
material benefits. (UNODC, 2006a: 20)

Figure 1 Key definitions from the UN Convention against

Organised Crime (2000) (Palermo Convention)
definitions allow us to make a relatively clear distinction
between trafficking and its three combined core elements,
(1) movement or harbouring of persons
(2) use of deception or coercion
(3) placement in an exploitative situation
all of which must be present, and smuggling (see United Nations
smuggling protocol, 2000). To be defined as smuggling, rather
than trafficking, the following conditions must apply (Dowling,
Moreton & Wright, 2007: 2); those being smuggled:
16

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 consent to be illegally transported from the country of

origin to the country of destination;
the relationship between smuggler and smuggled ends
shortly after entry into the country of destination, without
deliberate placement in an exploitative situation.
As we develop our model below, it will become clear that the
overlap between trafficking in persons and human smuggling
may be blurred in reality, as individuals who have consented to
be smuggled may find they were deceived and have effectively
been trafficked, i.e. they are not freed on arrival (Europol, 2005,
and Crosland, 2000, cited in Foy, 2007: 13).
Human Trafficking and Human Smuggling
Trafficking in persons and human smuggling require different
levels of involvement on behalf of the victims. Trafficking
always involves some level of deception, coercion and exploitation, which continues after the trafficked individuals have arrived
at their destination. Richards (2004: 152) argues that trafficking
involves a long-term relationship between the trafficker and the
trafficked person. It usually involves the trafficker, or associates,
subjecting the trafficked person(s) to exploitative labour environments through removal of identity documents, withholding of
payment, abuse and ill-treatment, and the continual threat of
exposure to authorities and deportation (Richards, 2004: 152).
In contrast, human smuggling occurs where young Nigerian
migrants freely consent to take part in the illegal migration
journey. Smugglers will therefore often be present and participate actively during the recruitment and transport processes.
However, if consent is withdrawn at any point, the resulting
coercion or exploitation as part of a transport process then turns
what started as smuggling into trafficking (see United Nations
Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and the
Protocols Thereto, 2002 at http://www.unodc.org/documents/
treaties/UNTOC/Publications/TOC%20Convention/TOCebook-e.
pdf).
The waters are muddied still further in Nigerias case
because both smuggling and trafficking thrive as a result of
economic hardship, lack of opportunity and restrictions placed
on the process of regular migration. It is therefore debatable
whether free consent is ever possible under these circumstances,
but it will have ramifications for different enforcement processes. It is therefore important to look at the role played by the
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different motivations and processes of those involved in organised crime.

Human Trafficking, Smuggling and Organised Crime
Parent and Bruckert (2002: 19) have argued that the association
between trafficking, smuggling and organised crime is neither
self-evident nor always very substantial, but that it can be found
in all phases of activity, e.g. recruitment, transport, working in
the host country, etc. During the recruitment phase, those
responsible at the local level may utilise either a central means of
recruitment such as the media, internet, employment agency,
etc., or a decentralised means of recruitment which involves
recruiters in towns and villages (Truong, 2001: 18). Methods
used in the destination countries will include: corruption and
bribery; forged travel documents; false job offers; false passports; false husbands, wives or fianc(e)s, false family members,
etc.
In Nigeria, organised criminal groups rely on the complexity
of travel agencies arrangements to assist in obtaining visas,
along with corrupt truck drivers and law enforcement agents
(Truong, 2001: 18). The many dynamic variations in the relationship between organised crime, smuggling and trafficking in
persons make it difficult to capture at any one point, due to
changes in political, social and economic circumstances, as well
as peculiarities of the locations concerned. However, the metarelationship between these elements can be summarised as in
Figure 2 below.
Organised crime (A) involves the commodification of human
beings by a number of individuals in close social interaction.
Their involvement in illicit migration can involve both legal and
illegal elements, in order to maximise financial return for the
least effort or danger to the traffickers. For instance, the UK
House of Commons Home Affairs Committee (HAC, 2009: 71)
cites Anti-Slavery International findings (at http://www.anti
slavery.org/english/) that airport workers in Nigeria could be
linked to trafficking gangs because some victims were discovered but re-trafficked so swiftly. This also requires co-opting
government officials who become key players or facilitators both
locally and internationally, a phenomenon not just confined to
Nigeria (see US Department of State, 2009: 241 on alleged US
law enforcement corruption linked to trafficking).
Kyle and Liang (2001: 34) argue that human smuggling (B)
is best explained using regional development models, arguing
that most undocumented migrants do not end up in actual
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Figure 2 The relationship between trafficking, smuggling and

organised crime
slavery, but rather are freed to pursue their own work once the
smuggling fees have been paid (A+B). However, they also argue
(ibid.) that organised human smuggling is no longer a simple
activity of helping migrants to cross a single nearby border for a
few hundred dollars. Rather, it is a business that requires
resources and manpower to move people, documents and money
across such barriers, with a high demand and a low risk. Most of
those who are smuggled are undocumented or falsely documented from Africa (especially Nigeria), Asia, Eastern Europe
and South America, and are generally poorer migrants who do
not qualify for tourist or student visas. They are therefore forced
to pay individuals and organisations specialising in profiting
from the mobilisation of people across great legal, physical and
cultural barriers (Kyle & Liang, 2001: 34). Human commodification nearly always requires intermediaries, middlemen, or
facilitators who provide a range of legal and illegal services to
make the clandestine trip feasible.
In Nigeria, illicit migration services therefore typically
include: clandestine passage; false documents; training, etc., and
these have become quite lucrative in themselves without the
need for coercion. The blurring of trafficking and smuggling,
through organised crime (A+B+C) starts to occur when considering the following case. In 2009, 67 illegal migrants were
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intercepted at a border town linking Nigeria and Cameroon by

a patrol team of the Nigerian Immigration Service (Gusau, 2009:
1). The group of young Nigerians had willingly sought the
services of smugglers, but it was not clear whether they would be
free of them once they became aware that the promises of
employment in Europe and elsewhere were false. It is more
likely they had been tricked by traffickers (or faux smugglers),
for whom it is easy to exploit willingness to be smuggled for a
price to be converted into exploitation and trafficking (B+C) due
to the ignorance, naivety and vulnerability of the victims. Ruthless ploys are used to target vulnerable children and young
women, often involving promises of a better life through
employment, educational opportunities or marriage (US Department of State, 2009: 8).
However, Kyle and Koslowski (2001, cited in Kyle & Liang
2001: 4) also suggest that, while some victims are tricked and
exploited as slaves (A+C), other migrants seek out smugglers
services (A+B). From an enforcement perspective, trafficking
and smuggling are part of the same continuum of the fastest
growing criminal industry along with drugs and arms trafficking (Skrivankova, 2006: 5), but different approaches will be
required, depending on which part of the continuum is being
tackled.
Kelly and Regan (2000, cited in Foy, 2007: 14) have argued
that globalisation, growth in sex markets internationally, the
push factor of poverty in developing nations and the disproportionate effect of this on women leading to the increased feminisation of migration all have a role to play in fuelling the growth
in trafficking and smuggling. This is compounded by increasing
border controls (especially stringent visa and asylum restrictions
for EU entry) and a lack of opportunity at home, leaving
migrants with little choice but to rely on traffickers or smugglers
to gain access to more advanced countries (Skrivankova, 2006:
5). All of these factors are at play in Nigeria, where human
trafficking and smuggling have been referred to as a consequence of the commodification of migration, with trafficking
networks now viewed as business organisations (Foy, 2007: 14,
citing IOM, 2000a). Indeed, traffickers create employment in
hidden or informal sectors, including both legal and illegal
activities, and depend to varying degrees on the migration of
children, young women and young men (Richards, 2004:
1489).
Having established the correlation between trafficking,
human smuggling and organised crime, in the next section
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Figure 3 Labour migration, prostitution and domestic

servitude
we will examine the three seemingly most common areas of
exploitation through migration (internal and external) in Nigeria:
forced labour; prostitution; and domestic servitude.
The Unholy Trinity: Forced Labour, Prostitution and
Domestic Servitude
As argued above, high global demand for cheap labour, growing
disparity in wealth and tight migration controls all lead to greater
potential rewards for Nigerian traffickers and smugglers. Figure
3 above represents the most common forms of exploitation
encountered by young Nigerians.
Many more national economies have had to adapt to market
economics, privatisation, trade liberalisation and changing forms
of trade cooperation (Taran, Moreno-Fontes & Chammartin,
2002, cited by Richards, 2004: 150). In Nigeria, the most
obvious effects have been: reduced likelihood of public sector
employment; disappearance of traditional industries; elimination
of other jobs; and subsidies through structural adjustment programmes. Most of this occurred during Ibrahim Babangidas
military regime (198593) and it created a thirst for a better life
abroad (Onyejekwe, 2005: 144).
There are many resultant or additional push factors that
combine to make Nigeria a prolific generator of migrants for
illegal work. Ostensibly, Nigeria is known to be among the
poorest countries in the world, despite rich natural and human
resources. The country has one of the highest levels of social
inequality: the richest tenth of the population have an income 25
times that of the poorest tenth (Carling, 2006: 7, citing United
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21

Nations Development Programme, 2004). A persistent financial

crisis has caused gross national product to stagnate and the price
of food and other goods to rise rapidly. The purchasing power of
the lower classes has steadily declined since the beginning of the
early 1980s. Nigeria is also alleged to be one of the most corrupt
nations in the world (Carling, 2006: 17). Increasing rates of
poverty, high unemployment, lack of opportunity and the quest
to simply survive all drive human trafficking and smuggling in
Nigeria (UNESCO, 2006: 32) and are rooted in systematic age
and gender discrimination. The key reasons for this are:
Unequal access to education limits most Nigerians access
to skilled occupations, particularly in rural communities
(Carling, 2006: 31);
Lack of awareness of the risks involved in illegal migration (UNESCO, 2006: 33);
Increasing demand for foreign workers as domestic
servants/care roles but lack of adequate supporting regulatory frame work (ibid.);
Growth of tolerated billion-dollar sex and entertainment
industry demand which essentially exploits and criminalises children and young women (UNODC, 2008: 96);
Ease with which organised criminals can control and
manipulate vulnerable children, young women and young
men (UNESCO, 2006: 33).
There has been little emphasis on the exploitation of young
Nigerian men for forms of forced labour (D) and it is therefore
important to include this in any integrated model of human
trafficking and smuggling. Many legitimate employment sectors
depend on seasonal or casual workers, e.g. agriculture, mining,
stone quarries and food processing sectors (House of Commons
(HAC), 2009: 20). However, many young Nigerian men are
trafficked to work against their will in exploitative conditions in
these sectors, through a variety of coercive mechanisms such as
debt bondage, the removal of their identity documents or the use
of intimidation and threats (Skrivankova, 2006: 1).
Prostitution (E) markets (and to a lesser extent the wider sex
industry) have received more attention. Here, predominantly
young women are likely to enter into agreements which appear
to be straightforward smuggling operations, but find they have
been tricked and forced into bonded prostitution on arrival.
If smuggled and deceived (i.e. effectively trafficked), some
women will expect to work as prostitutes for a while in order to
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generate a good income base in respect to the comparative

earning in Nigeria (see Aronowitz, 2001: 116, citing Ojomo,
1999), but have no idea of the violence and degradation to which
they will be subjected (House of Commons (HAC), 2009:
1112). Others who expected to find themselves in legitimate
jobs are deceived into thinking that they will be working in
restaurants, domestic work, child minding and even accountancy,
or they are promised education or training opportunities (House
of Commons (HAC), 2009: 11).
According to the Home Office, domestic servitude (F) is a
key driver of demand in the trafficking of children and young
women. Any deception is based on similar promises to those
outlined above, but, on arrival, the migrants are put to work in a
house and usually never allowed out. They will have no documents and many are also regularly physically, psychologically
and sexually abused, not paid, and may be compelled to work
long hours without rest (Upadhyay, 2007; African Child Policy
Forum, 2008: 7).
There is a grey area between prostitution (E) and domestic
servitude (F), with many of the same types of abuse taking place.
Indeed, commodification and the adaptability of traffickers
means that there is some fluidity between these two markets, and
more research is needed into the forced career path of children
who are initially trafficked for domestic service, but may later be
moved into prostitution. Equally, children who are initially
trafficked for domestic servitude (F) may be moved into forced
labour if it is thought they will be more profitable there.
Currently, the assumption would be that girls are moved into
prostitution and boys into forced labour, but it is important to
consider both genders for both markets, and also the possibility
of child prostitution. Perhaps the best way forward in identifying
and explaining such a dynamic phenomenon is to develop further
Smiths (cited by Lyman & Potter, 2000: 81) enterprise theory
of organised crime, which argues that a certain rate of consumption is required to justify the level of investment and risk, which
in turn leads the perpetrators to bribe corrupt law enforcement
agents, and apply different types of extortion in order to expand
their markets, increase revenue and protect the business.
In sum, the relationship between forced labour (D), prostitution (E) and domestic servitude (F) is exploitation by some
level of organised crime. Vulnerable victims of trafficking will
be moved across these markets dependent on where it is likely
they will render the most value. The victims vulnerability is
partly a product of licit economies which produce the conditions
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in which exploitation can take place. Exploitative practices such

as wage reductions, failure to pay, long working hours, lack of
breaks, holidays, and health and safety provisions are directly or
indirectly experienced by a significant proportion of trafficked
victims in low-pay sectors, which Skrivankova (2006: 9) typifies
under the 3 Ds: difficult; dangerous; and dirty.
The appeal of smuggling may also be much broader. The
constant pressure on employers to cut costs and increase productivity has caused a growth in subcontracting and outsourcing
(Anderson, 2006, cited by Skrivankova, 2006: 9). Workers in
this system are temporary, available on demand and can be laid
off when not needed. These are ideal conditions in which
trafficking might be presented as smuggling by intermediary
agents to desperate and relatively nave and vulnerable
victims.
Trends in Human Trafficking and Smuggling in Nigeria
Applying what we know about human trafficking and smuggling
in Nigeria, it is clear that we examine both internal and external
trafficking. Internal trafficking from rural to metropolitan areas
is common throughout the country, while trans-border trafficking may represent a second stage in this process (UNODC,
2006a: 29).
Differential development within Nigeria is at least as important as the differentials among Africa, Europe and the USA, and
Haas has argued that internal migration in Nigeria is immense
(Haas, 2006: 6) due to its relative ease. The dominant destination
for internal migrants, the bulk of whom are children, young
women and young men, is towards the densely populated coastal
areas such as Lagos, Rivers, and Delta; Kano, Minna and
Kaduna in the North and Abuja (the capital) in the centre.
The strong traditional belief in fostering Nigeria can allow
poor rural families to send their children and, to a lesser extent,
young adults, to family members in the cities with the understanding that their urban relatives will genuinely offer their
children education and employment opportunities. In practice,
unfortunately, most of these individuals are overworked and not
schooled, while some are sent to the street to hawk food as
beggars, scavengers, wheelbarrow pushers, etc. This internal
market also then makes the victims more vulnerable to being
picked up by trans-border traffickers and smugglers of human
beings (Haas, 2006: 6).
Migration to urban areas is generally fuelled by severe
economic conditions, traditional practices, conflicts, abject pov24

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erty and deceptive accounts of the heavenly urban life in rural

areas (Dave-Odegie, 2008: 4) and the relatively sophisticated
social infrastructure provision in the urban centres, such as
electricity, clean drinking water, health facilities and employment opportunities.
Organised begging is a key element of internal trafficking in
Nigeria but, despite its ubiquity, there is little research on it.
Physically disabled people are lured into the begging business
and experienced adult beggars often also traffic children in their
custody; anecdotal evidence also suggests that these children are
rewarded with only meagre daily meals (Dave-Odegie, 2008:
65). These children are denied access to formal education, proper
social upbringing and basic human rights. It is a difficult area to
research and it perhaps requires the development of new methodologies but this is essential to understanding the process by
which those who are internally trafficked may become those who
are trafficked across borders, and Nigeria is a major source of
trans-border human trafficking in West Africa. Nigerian children
and young adults are trafficked into Mali, Benin, Togo, Ghana,
Gabon, Cte DIvoire, Equatorial Guinea and South Africa (US
Department of State, 2009: 81283). However, in order of
priority, countries such as Belgium, Spain, France, United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden and Holland are
the ultimate goal of many illegal Nigerian migrants (Alemike &
Chukwuma, 2005: 88).
Recruitment by Organised Crime
The political and economic malaise in Nigeria since the 1990s
has facilitated a sharp increase in human trafficking and smuggling, and this in turn has seen the re-emergence of a century-old
institution. So-called middlemen or facilitators provide an
integrated network of legal and illegal services needed to make a
clandestine trip across borders. Nigerian trafficking and smuggling networks are built on pacts between the trafficked and the
traffickers. Both groups have specific organisational hierarchies,
which interact in a complex way, both locally and internationally. The victims initial contact with these facilitators is usually
through a relative, friend or acquaintance (Carling, 2006: 26), as
illustrated in Figure 4 below in relation to trafficking and
smuggling into Europe.
These facilitating negotiations often start in the victims
homes. The facilitator offers to arrange all the documents
required to leave Nigeria, visas for intermediate and destination
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26

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Figure 4 Human traffickers and human smugglers networks in Nigeria

Source: Carling (2006: 27) Migration, Human Smuggling and Trafficking from Nigeria to Europe.

countries, false passports, etc. (Kyle & Liang, 2001: 8). Following this, victims are put in contact with a madam who is the
networks most important person in Nigeria. She (occasionally
they are male) liaises with an equivalent madam in a European
country and the latter is responsible for controlling and collecting money through the victims after their arrival (UNODC,
2006a: 57). Other key players are voodoo priests (see Davies,
2010, for the role of juju oaths in the control of young Nigerian
women trafficked into the sex industry in Ireland), religious
leaders and lawyers in Nigeria. A local Nigerian trolley,
usually a male assistant to the madam in Europe, is responsible
for accompanying the victims on the journey (Carling, 2006: 26).
Trolleys facilitate smooth passage of trafficked or smuggled
victims through the various border controls.
Nigerian trafficking and smuggling routes
Intensified measures to control and deter human trafficking and
smuggling have resulted in Nigerian organised crime utilising
more hazardous means and routes. We have therefore summarised the key routes from the available sources.
Ume-Ezeoke (2004: 16) argues that in the past, traffickers,
smugglers and victims travelled to Europe by air, but the recent
crackdowns internationally, and by the Nigerian Immigration
Service, have forced them to use the Sahara desert and other
West African routes, using transit countries, i.e., Benin Republic,
Togo, Ghana and Mali. This is a view supported by the two
airline agents we interviewed (see below).The extensive use of
forged documents to provide citizenship status and thereby valid
travel documentation within these transit countries allows
Nigerians then to fly to their destination countries attracting less
attention or suspicion (Carling, 2006: 34).
Another key strategy is to travel from Nigeria to Moscow
and other Eastern European cities, or Turkey, then cross the
border illegally into Western Europe (Smit, 2001; Okojie et al.,
2003, cited in UNODC, 2006a; Carling, 2006: 34, citing Prina,
2003).
Schapendonk and Van Moppes (2007: 10) found that many
illegal Nigerian migrants also travel through the Sahara in fourwheel drive vehicles or lorries, en route to Europe by sea.
Nigerian human traffickers and smugglers often pay local criminals or groups who control areas they are travelling through,
such as the Tuareg in the border zone between Chad, Niger,
Mali, Guinea, Senegal, Mauritania and Algeria (Carling, 2006:
34, citing Bensaad, 2003). The most common sea routes to
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Europe after crossing the Sahara are from the western Sahara to
the Canary Islands, Morocco to Spain, Tunisia or Libya to Italy
and Dakar en route to the Cape Verde Islands and then to the
Canary Islands (Carling, 2006: 34).
Other trafficking routes are from Kebbi or Sokoto to the
Republic of Benin, on to Niger, Ghana, Senegal and from there
on to destinations such as Libya, Algeria or Morocco, which in
turn are usually transit countries for destinations in Europe and
the Middle East (UNODC, 2006a: 32). Zindel in Katsina State
and Megatel in Jigawa State also serve as exit routes from
Nigeria through Niger to Mali, Burkina Faso, en route to Libya,
Algeria, Morocco and Southern Sahara to Europe, while Egypt is
used as a transit route to the Middle East. There is also the Hajj
by land route starting from Maiduguri in Borno State, through
Gamboru (a border town) en route through Gala, to Ndjamena
in Chad and through the Sudan to Saudi Arabia (UNODC,
2006a: 32, citing Okojie, 2004). Finally, almost all victims
rescued by law enforcement agents in 200609 were intercepted
at border towns in northern Nigeria, suggesting the open desert
terrain is ideal for organised criminals to engage in human
trafficking and smuggling. The complexity of these transit routes
is summarised by the map below (Figure 5).
This complex picture is very fluid as traffickers and smugglers react to changes in enforcement and new business opportunities. For this reason, and given the paucity of systematic
research evidence on Nigerian people trafficking and smuggling,
we decided to carry out our own small-scale exploratory
research, which suggests that the picture is more complicated
still, with some of the Western nations originally assumed to be
destination countries now serving as transit hubs as well.
The Views of Nigerian Law Enforcement and Airline Agents
The following results are based on semi-structured telephone
interviews with 10 Nigerian law enforcement agents and 3 frontline airline agents. While the number of respondents is small,
they are also hard to reach and a lot of work was put into
convincing them to respond and ensuring anonymity. We feel the
results give a clearer contemporary picture of the issues faced by
those dealing with trafficking and smuggling in and from Nigeria
and one which is otherwise not accessible.
Research Findings
As Table 1 shows, this exploratory study sample was not
intended to be fully representative of the law enforcement
28

The Police Journal, Volume 84 (2011)

Table 1 Occupation of respondents

Occupation of respondents
Immigration service
Frontline airline agents
Police
State security service
Customs
NDLEA
Total

No. of
respondents

(%)

4
3
2
2
1
1

31
23
15
15
8
8

13

100

community in Nigeria but was indicative of law enforcement

agents and front-line airline staff. Therefore, the results will only
represent law enforcement agents and front-line airline.
The effectiveness and efficiency of these law enforcement
agencies has been criticised due to both internal and external
constraints (Alemika & Chukwuma, 2005: 101). Respondents
were therefore asked what were the most important barriers and
challenges they faced in combating human trafficking and smuggling. As Table 2 shows, 54% of respondents acknowledged that
lack of information remains the main barrier to investigation of
both crimes.
Ume-Ezeoke (2004: 28) argues that most victims were
unlikely to assist the police and other agencies as a result of the
oath of secrecy sworn by victims before their departure (see also
Davies, 2010) and fear of possible reprisal attacks on members
of their families. It is clear that resources and research need to be
Table 2 Barriers and challenges faced by law enforcement
agencies in Nigeria

Respondents views
Lack of information
Lack of training and inadequate
equipment
Poor legislation
Total
The Police Journal, Volume 84 (2011)

No. of
respondents

(%)

54

4
2

31
15

13

100
29

devoted to victim protection and education if information is to be

gained successfully and used for investigation and prosecution.
Nearly a third (31%) of the respondents thought that lack of
training and basic knowledge in identifying cases of human
trafficking and smuggling were the biggest obstacle to successful
enforcement. This supports UNESCOs (2006: 40) assertion that
human trafficking and smuggling have continued to flourish in
Nigeria due to enforcement agents lack of technical knowhow.
Poor legislation, and implementation of it, was criticised by
two front-line agents, again supporting the findings of previous
research (Ume-Ezeoke, 2004: 28) that shows offenders tried for
trafficking often escape prosecution or are given short custodial
sentences or small fines.
Table 3 shows that most respondents (85%) thought human
traffickers and smugglers were now most likely to take land
routes through the Sahara en route to Europe by sea.
The enforcement task is immense. Nigerias land border is
approximately 4,046km: 800km with Benin; 1,500km with
Niger, 80km with Chad, 1,680km with Cameroon; and over
800km of coast (Alemika and Chukwuma, 2005: 189). An
immigration officer suggested that the extensive border between
Nigeria, Chad, Niger, Benin and Cameroon hampers proper
surveillance in addition to inadequate manpower. This supports
Ume-Ezeokes (2004: 180) argument that the volume of trafficking and smuggling is possible because of the limited capacity of
border enforcement agencies and Aronowitzs view (2001: 185)
that there are extensive unguarded borders, weak patrolling, and
limited manpower and resources in countering Nigerian smuggling and trafficking.
One of the airline agents argued that the most popular target
destinations for human trafficking were France, Italy, Russia,
Austria, Cyprus, Turkey, Ireland, Poland, Romania, Finland,
Table 3 Trafficking and human smuggling routes from
Nigeria

Respondents views

No. of
respondents

By land through the Sahara desert 11

By air
2
Total
30

13

(%)
85
15
100

The Police Journal, Volume 84 (2011)

Table 4 Emerging trends in the fight against trafficking and

human smuggling in Nigeria
How effective is the strategy or system?
Respondents views
No, adequate training and
equipment needs to be
provided
Yes, its fair but needs
improvement
Total

No. of
respondents

(%)

62

38

13

100

Czech Republic, UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman. They

also felt the traffickers were now so well structured that it was
easy to procure business visas to the Middle East, student visas
to Western and Eastern Europe, and tourist visas or visiting visas
to some EU countries.
As Table 4 shows, only 38% thought they were effective in
combating human trafficking smuggling, and they even thought
improvements were needed. Typically, 62% argued that the
system is underfunded lacked manpower and communication
equipment, supporting UNESCOs (2006: 40) argument outlined above.
Conclusion
It is clear that there are many contributory factors as to why
Nigeria has so many people trafficking and smuggling, both
internally and transnationally, on such a large scale. Many of
these factors, such as poverty, lie seemingly outside the scope of
law enforcement and/or criminal justice, while others do lie
within its remit, such as tackling corruption, which may in turn
help to improve the economic situation. In the current situation,
it seems unlikely that Nigerian law enforcement will receive
higher funding, better training, etc. However, we hope this study
will have contributed to the knowledge base of law enforcers in
transit and destination countries and will enable them to identify
more easily the characteristics of those trafficked from Nigeria.
The question then becomes one of how to treat those victims
humanely. It seems that combating human trafficking and smuggling requires creativity, tact, sound knowledge, proper funding,
The Police Journal, Volume 84 (2011)

31

commitment and high motivation (Alemika & Chukwuma, 2005:

20). Ironically, the criminal networks involved seem to posses
those very characteristics that the law enforcement agents lack.
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