US embassy cable - 03LAGOS2045

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 LAGOS 002045 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/02/2013 
TAGS: PHUM, SMIG, SOCI, SNAR, CVIS, NI 
SUBJECT: THE SEX TRADE TO THE US AND EUROPE: MEETING WITH 
DUTCH DCM, LAGOS 
 
 
Classified By: CG Robyn Hinson-Jones for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d). 
 
 
1. (C) SUMMARY: POLOFF met with Gerrit Van Hemert, Deputy 
Head of Mission for the Netherlands Consulate General in 
Lagos on 17 September to discuss patterns of trafficking of 
women for the sex trade to Europe. Van Hemert, who has 
studied the subject for three years, laid out a pattern of 
trafficking from Nigeria to the US via West Africa and South 
America, using Miami as the port of entry.  Tactics used in 
the trade include various forms of visa fraud: obtaining and 
traveling with multiple identities and using impostors to 
travel with valid passports and visas.  Collusion within the 
Nigerian government is believed to reach senior levels of the 
Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) and traditional rulers. 
Embassies in Cotonou and Lome are often seen as weak points 
to obtain valid visas for the US and Europe.  It is believed 
that trafficked women may also be involved in the drug trade. 
In a separate conversation, Father Emmanuel Adetoyese Badejo 
of the Catholic Secretariat confirmed most of Van Hemert's 
assertions. END SUMMARY 
 
 
BACKGROUND 
---------- 
 
 
2. (C) Van Hemert has been serving in Lagos for the past 
three years and has been involved  in addressing the issue of 
human trafficking for the Government of the Kingdom of the 
Netherlands (GOKN) in the region.  He has coordinated with 
Government of Nigeria (GON) officials regarding deportation 
of sex slaves and has personally traveled to Lome, the port 
of departure for travel to South America.  In addition, he 
has conducted several interviews with trafficked women, 
detailing the patterns of their travel. 
 
 
EDO STATE, THE ROTTEN APPLE OF NIGERIA 
-------------------------------------- 
 
 
3. (C) Trafficked Nigerian women are in their late teens and 
twenties, are single, have beauty traits valued in Europe and 
the United States, and may have limited or general education. 
 Almost all trafficked women originate from Benin City, Edo 
State or its neighboring communities, which Van Hemert 
describes as the "sick, rotten apple of Nigeria."  He claims 
Edo State has a "cultural and economic system built on human 
trafficking and prostitution" and believes that Omo n'Oba 
Erediauwa, the Oba of Benin (traditional king), and his High 
Priest, Chief Nosakhure Isekhure, are involved in the 
trafficking syndicate.  Van Hemert has interviewed 
approximately 10 to 12 trafficked women per year at the Dutch 
Consulate General who were applying for legal residence 
permits. He stated that each were willing to discuss their 
experiences in Europe and how they reached the Netherlands, 
but none were willing to name individuals who either 
facilitated their migration in Europe or are key members of 
the syndicate in Edo State and Nigeria.  Benin City is the 
ancient capital of the Benin Kingdom and its traditional 
monarch, the Oba of Benin, exercises great power.  Although 
Nigeria is largely Moslem or Christian, most still believe in 
voodoo or juju.  Benin City, through high priests, has made 
great efforts to maintain the traditional practices and 
religion of voodoo.  POLOFF had the opportunity to visit a 
senior high priest, Osemwegie Ebohon, and his voodoo cultural 
center on 14 September.  Ebohon is a frequent visitor to 
Broward County, Florida.  (Note: In December 1999, the Dutch 
African Studies Centre published in Dutch "An Appearance of 
Voodoo: Cultural Background of the Trade in Nigerian Girls 
for Dutch Prostitution - An Exploration" and detailed the 
connection between the sex trade and voodoo.) 
 
 
4. (U) The International Organization of Migration (IOM) has 
based its offices in Benin City and tracks many of the 
stories of the returnees.  (An IOM official in Lagos told CG 
that 99% of females deported through Lagos are from Benin 
City.)  According to Elvira Gregoire of IOM in Benin City, 
trafficked women "never disclose their sponsors' identities 
for fear of putting their families at risk" and are 
apprehensive to break their "oath of secrecy" that they gave 
before being trafficked.  ("Oaths of secrecy" are a common 
practice in voodoo.)  Gregoire further stated that trafficked 
women are often made to pay back a debt of $20,000 - $50,000 
incurred through their migration to destination countries. 
Once in Europe, their "madams" seize their travel and 
identity documents and place them under 24 hour surveillance 
while having them practice prostitution.  In addition to 
debriefing repatriated trafficked women, IOM assists with 
food, toiletries, family contact, and transportation back 
home. 
 
 
TRACKING THE TRAFFICKED 
----------------------- 
 
 
5. (C) Trafficked women destined to Miami and the United 
States go through a long transiting process.  Van Hemert 
claimed traffickers look for the "weak links" in 
the system.  Women from Edo travel to Cotonou and Lome, he 
said, to apply for US and Schengen (European Union) visas. 
If successful, many women return to Lagos to apply for Dutch 
transit visas to travel on KLM.  If unsuccessful, they travel 
to the Port of Lome and are put on fishing boats to South 
America.  Van Hemert visited Lome to see the port himself and 
was shown which boats were available for transit across the 
Atlantic.  He said the process was very easy and relatively 
inexpensive and characterized the vessels as barely sea 
worthy, surmising that many may have been lost at sea.  Van 
Hemert further stated that women regularly traveled with two 
or three passports using different identities and sometimes 
different nationalities, in particular Ivoirian.  Destination 
countries in South America are primarily Guyana and to a 
lesser degree Suriname and Venezuela.  Once in Guyana, 
trafficked women either apply for US and Schengen visas, 
obtain fraudulent visas, or travel via boat to Caribbean 
islands with European or American protectorate status, 
through which they enter the destination countries.  He 
specified Miami as the port of entry for the United States 
from the Caribbean and South America.  Based on this pattern, 
Van Hemert was amazed that a "few weeks ago" the USG "took 
Suriname off its trafficking list."  Van Hemert stated that 
the Dutch Consulate General here has seen many fraudulent 
Surinamese visas from Nigerian applicants and has heard 
reports of counterfeit Surinamese currency in Nigeria.  He 
said that he refuses all transit visa requests that contain 
Surinamese and US visas. 
 
 
6. (C)  The European trafficking pattern is very organized 
and is operated much like an underground railroad by Nigerian 
women who are married to European men and serve as guides and 
madams.  Most trafficked women enter Europe via Barcelona, 
Spain which is known by Van Hemert to be a "weak link." 
According to Van Hemert, a Spanish madam meets the trafficked 
women at the Barcelona airport and provides them food and 
housing and a plane ticket onward to Brussels. Once in 
Brussels, the women are met by a Dutch madam and taken to the 
Netherlands. Some women stay in Amsterdam to work, but others 
are taken to Arnhem, Netherlands on the German border and 
work at a specific bar there as prostitutes. Their passports 
are surrendered and the women then transit to Italy, the 
ultimate destination country, where the demand is greatest. 
 
 
COLLUSION OF TRAFFICKERS AND SENIOR NIGERIAN IMMIGRATION 
OFFICIALS? 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
 
7. (C) Van Hemert reported that starting in June 2003, the 
Netherlands has chartered two flights back to Lagos 
containing 47 and 53 trafficked women respectively.  He 
explained that previously, GOKN and the Nigerian Immigration 
Service (NIS) had a good working relationship.  On several 
occasions, GOKN has paid for NIS officials to travel to the 
Netherlands and help identify trafficked Nigerian women for 
deportation.  He characterized the current relationship as 
strained, however. Dutch confidence has been lost in NIS as 
they believe that air tickets meant for other West Africans 
mistakenly deported to Nigeria have been confiscated by NIS 
officials and used for their own purposes.  As a result, GOKN 
now provides cars for deportees to return to their countries 
of origin from Nigeria.  In addition, NIS has demanded that 
more officials visit the Netherlands to view their operations 
and receive $500 per diem while visiting. NIS has also made 
numerous visa requests for private individuals going on 
tourism.  Van Hemert also has a strained personal 
relationship with Dr. Baba Jide Brown, Assistant Comptroller 
General of Immigration and head of the division that covers 
Lagos.  He finds it interesting that Dr. Brown has been in 
his position for 20 years despite Nigeria's tumultuous 
political history and succession of democratic and military 
governments.  He also views the U.S.-educated Dr. Brown as 
arrogant and questions how he is able to afford his 
lifestyle.  As a result of this strained relationship, a 
chartered flight of trafficked women from Amsterdam scheduled 
for 22 September was canceled by NIS. 
 
 
8. (C) Van Hemert reported that he has interviewed several 
women who initially claimed that they had lost their Schengen 
Visa or Dutch Residency Permit.  Upon further interview, the 
women, who were apparently legitimate travelers, revealed 
that as they were about to board their flights for the 
Netherlands, a NIS official requested to meet with them in an 
office.  Once in the office, the womens' passports are taken 
and the women claim to have been detained at the airport for 
two and three days.  Van Hemert stated that he believes "look 
alikes" then take the passports and travel with them.  He 
also believes that these passports are circulated and are 
used by many women. Van Hemert also asserted that trafficked 
women are likely used in the drug trade as well during their 
travels throughout the trafficking routes.  Of the 12 
Nigerian lawyers and investigators on staff at the Dutch 
Consulate General, none will go to the airport to investigate 
these allegations for fear of reprisals or assassinations. 
 
 
 
 
CONFIRMATION FROM CATHOLIC SECRETARIAT 
-------------------------------------- 
 
 
9. (C) Badejo confirmed the prevalence of trafficking women 
to Europe and the US from 
Edo State and called the state the "capitol of traffickers." 
He further confirmed the collusion of government officials 
and traditional rulers with traffickers and stated that 
voodoo, coercion, and threat of violence are used to quiet 
the trafficked.  The Secretariat has programs in Benin City 
that offers rehabilitation services and counseling for 
trafficked women.  Nigerian nuns and priests are also located 
in Europe, providing similar services.  In 2002, a Nigerian 
nun working with trafficked women was murdered in Italy. 
Badejo stated that many nuns and priests working there 
receive numerous threats from traffickers and unknown 
persons.  Badejo was not aware of South America as a 
transiting point for trafficking, but stated that traffickers 
work through agents in Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, and Ghana.  In 
these countries, he said there are camps where women are 
"instructed in their duties," informed of the costs of their 
travel, take voodoo oaths of secrecy, and sign agreements to 
repay their expenses.  Most women, Badejo stated, are aware 
that they are going to be prostitutes.  He said trafficking 
for prostitution is inculcated into the culture and that many 
women practice the trade to send money back to their 
families.  Societal pressure is intense on young women in Edo 
and Badejo characterized fathers as telling their daughters 
"you are no use to me here.  Go to Europe and bring home 
money so that I can enjoy my old age." 
 
 
10. (C) COMMENT: The trafficking of women is an important 
component of international organized crime in Nigeria.  The 
effects are particularly acute in Europe and GOKN and the 
Government of Italy have amended their immigration laws to 
facilitate deportation of illegal immigrants in response to 
this and other problems.  Although Europe is the number one 
destination of trafficked women, it is believed that the 
trend in the United States may be growing.  The extent of the 
trade to the US is currently unknown, but the product of 
stricter enforcement of immigration laws by USG since 
September 11, 2001 may yield more information in the near 
future.  If Nigerians take great lengths to traffic women to 
Europe via South America, they are also likely to traffic 
women to the United States and it may be a matter of time 
before effects of the trade are seen. 
 
 
11. (C) It is difficult to document how the trafficking 
syndicate is organized.  Nigerian society is marked by 
corruption at every level and it is not surprising that it 
may include senior NIS officials and traditional rulers.  The 
lack of cooperation from trafficked women in identifying 
members of the syndicate, the appropriate fear of possible 
reprisals and assassinations, and the nature of Nigerian 
bureaucracy make confirming this information extremely 
difficult.  However, Van Hemert is well versed on the issue 
and his three years of experience lends his assertions 
credibility.  Affected posts should be mindful of the 
phenomenon of trafficked Nigerian women and ascertain whether 
they may be applying for U.S. visas. Information shared by 
the Secretariat and Van Hemert also begs another question: 
are the women truly trafficked or smuggled illegal immigrants 
seeking economic gain? END COMMENT 
HINSON-JONES