US embassy cable - 04LAGOS2301

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 LAGOS 002301 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PREL, KCRM, KWMN, NI 
SUBJECT: TIP: NIGERIA INTERIM ASSESSMENT 
 
REF: STATE 228458 
 
1.  When Post made its submission last March for the 2004 
TIP Report, the GON had just created the National Agency 
for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and Other 
Related Matters (NAPTIP).  With a staff of over 150 now 
in place, the fledgling agency has demonstrated its 
commitment to combating trafficking and has made a 
discernable level of progress in all areas described 
below.  However, inadequate funding for NAPTIP and other 
anti-trafficking efforts is a major constraint.  NAPTIP 
relies heavily on international organizations and foreign 
governments for financial and other support, particularly 
for assistance to victims.  Fortunately, international 
organizations report a good working relationship with 
NAPTIP. 
 
2.  The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) Anti-trafficking Task 
Force, which existed before the establishment of NAPTIP, 
also continues to combat trafficking.  The head of the 
task force reports that their activities have decreased 
as NAPTIP's have grown.  She commented that the task 
force now plays a "complementary role." The task force is 
also under-funded, perhaps more so than NAPTIP.  Police 
officers claim that NAPTIP staff are better paid.  They 
commented that these perceived discrepancies do not 
foster a good working relationship. 
 
a) Progress made in reducing TIP-related corrupt 
practices by officials with responsibility for regulating 
cross-border movement. 
 
3.  NAPTIP officials realize that corruption is an 
important issue.  The agency has received reports from 
informants and foreign officials that law enforcement 
officers and individuals in the immigration and airport 
authorities collaborate in trafficking across Nigeria's 
borders.  To address the problem, NAPTIP has briefed the 
heads of police and immigration on the issue and warned 
them of the agency's resolve to investigate and prosecute 
any official involved in TIP offenses.  NAPTIP is also 
working with the minister of aviation to address 
corruption among airport officials. 
 
b) Progress made in increasing the number of 
investigations, arrests, and prosecutions of traffickers, 
as well as continuing the prosecution of those already in 
custody. 
 
4.  NAPTIP established its National Investigation Task 
Force (NITF) by selecting personnel with good records 
from among police and immigration officers.  The agency 
prefers to rely on NITF officers for its investigations 
rather than the police because of concerns about 
corruption and the quality of investigations. 
 
5.  NAPTIP has investigated thirty-five cases since 
February 2004, with many of the cases still pending.  The 
agency has collaborated with the Spanish police, the 
Italian National Anti-mafia Bureau, and the police force 
of the Benin Republic on investigations in several cases. 
NAPTIP has made arrests in thirteen cases.  Four cases, 
involving six traffickers, have gone to court.  One of 
the trials has been completed; NAPTIP officials are 
hopeful of a conviction when the court renders judgment 
November 18. 
 
6.  NAPTIP officials highlighted one case in particular 
as an example of "best practices." This summer, NAPTIP 
apprehended two practitioners of traditional local 
religious magic who were used to facilitate trafficking 
by threatening victims with curses in order to procure 
their silence.  Officials confiscated items from the 
shrines of these two men and the men served as 
prosecution witnesses.  NAPTIP officials reported that a 
high percentage of girls and women trafficked believe 
that they have been placed under curses.  NAPTIP hopes 
the apprehension of these two individuals will help sever 
the instances of cooperation between traditional 
religious practices and trafficking in persons. 
 
7.  NAPTIP officials commented that investigations have 
been far more expensive and time-consuming than 
anticipated when the agency began.  They said their 
investigations so far have been reactive, built on cases 
in which a victim or trafficker has come into their 
custody.  The officials said in the future, pending 
funding availability, they would like to pursue cases 
proactively when they have information but no 
specifically known trafficker or victim. 
 
8.  The NPF Anti-trafficking Task Force has established 
and staffed eleven units in states with the worst 
trafficking problems.  The head of the task force said 
that units from five states have reported thirty-one 
cases, involving thirty-nine victims and fifty-one 
suspects thus far in 2004.  (Note: Records are not kept 
with enough precision at this point to determine which 
cases reported by the police overlap with those tracked 
by NAPTIP.) 
 
9.  Nigerian Immigration Service has anti-trafficking 
units in its seven zonal headquarters and in the states 
considered vulnerable. 
 
c) Progress made in training officials and traditional 
rulers in the new anti-TIP law and NAPTIP mandate 
 
10.  NAPTIP and the NPF Anti-trafficking Task Force have 
made progress in training officials and traditional 
rulers.  NAPTIP has trained its National Investigation 
Task Force on the provisions of the TIP prohibition law, 
care of victims, Interpol standards, and corruption and 
human rights issues.  Agency officials have delivered a 
lecture to police at the Command and Staff College in 
Sokoto State.  The NPF Anti-trafficking Task Force has 
trained senior officers as part of advanced detective 
courses at the Staff College in Jos, Plateau State.  They 
also have distributed copies of the TIP prohibition law 
to the police command office in every state. 
 
11.  NAPTIP officials delivered a lecture at the 
Immigration Training School in Kano to educate 
immigration officers on their role under the TIP 
prohibition law.  They also gave a lecture on the new law 
to judges and magistrates in the Southeast.  The agency 
is arranging to train judges in the South South, 
Northwest, and Central regions as well. 
 
12.  NAPTIP officials have met with several major 
traditional leaders to raise their awareness about 
trafficking and the new law, including the Oba of Benin, 
the Alake of Egbaland (Abeokuta), the Asagba of Asaba, 
and the Emir of Kano.  They said the Emir, perhaps the 
preeminent traditional leader in the North, was 
particularly upset to learn that some traffickers use the 
Hajj to traffic persons to Saudi Arabia. 
 
d) Progress made in assisting TIP victims once they are 
found. 
 
13.  The government has made progress in assisting 
victims.  NAPTIP serves as the point of contact for 
immigration and police officials when victims are found. 
Seventy-four victims have passed through the agency in 
2004.  NAPTIP has directly provided overnight shelter to 
some, but most often, agency officials connect victims to 
nongovernmental or international organizations for 
shelter, counseling, and reintegration assistance.  In a 
couple cases, the government has helped victims 
repatriate to Nigeria.  NAPTIP also has helped to reunite 
several trafficked children with their families. 
 
14.  The Nigerian federal government donated a building 
for a 120-bed shelter in Lagos for a ten-year period to 
be run by the International Organization for Migration 
(IOM) and NAPTIP.  With US and Italian government 
support, IOM renovated the building, which also includes 
offices for IOM and NAPTIP staff.  The US government 
(G/TIP and USAID) provided funds for the salaries of IOM 
and NAPTIP staff for up to one year and for 
transportation, psychological counseling, and personal 
items for victims.  The shelter was opened July 22, 2004. 
However, IOM reports that the shelter is now closed due 
to a lack of operating funds.  NAPTIP expects to open the 
shelter again within a month. 
 
15.  For victims serving as witnesses, a divisional 
police officer is appointed to serve as the witness 
protection officer.  NAPTIP officials and the officer 
work together to provide assistance.  NAPTIP also created 
a brochure to let victims know the agency exists to help 
them if they would like to pursue prosecution.  The 
brochure is distributed to deportees returning to Nigeria 
in hopes that it will encourage unidentified trafficking 
victims among them to come forward.  The brochure has 
prompted at least one woman returned from Italy to 
contact NAPTIP. 
 
16.  The Ministry of Labour and Productivity, in 
collaboration with the ILO, NAPTIP, the police and other 
federal agencies, has a program to provide food, 
transportation, and other logistical assistance to 
reunite internally and externally trafficked children 
with their families. 
 
17.  At the state level, the government of Akwa Ibom has 
donated a shelter for trafficked children and has pledged 
to establish a skills acquisition center.  The government 
of Kano State is working with UNICEF to establish a 
shelter for victims. 
 
e) Progress made in developing an anti-TIP media campaign 
 
18.  NAPTIP has created a website to provide information 
to the public (www.naptip.gov.ng).  The agency also has 
established a hotline for victims and anyone seeking or 
wanting to provide information about trafficking.  The 
hotline is staffed twenty-four hours a day.  The number 
is provided on various NAPTIP publications and through 
other agency efforts.  The ILO also has incorporated the 
hotline number into its TIP awareness raising efforts. 
 
19.  NAPTIP has developed a good working relationship 
with the media.  The agency has distributed copies of the 
anti-trafficking law and other materials to various media 
offices.  NAPTIP involved the media when officials 
visited the eleven states with the worst trafficking 
problems to publicize the new anti-TIP law.  NAPTIP 
officials have appeared on national talk shows and state 
programs.  They have developed a relationship with 
newspaper bureau chiefs to encourage them to give TIP 
stories prominence when they arise.  Some police chiefs 
also have worked to publicize cases in the media. 
 
20.  NAPTIP has developed and produced television 
advertisements in English and Pidgin English.  The ads 
aim to publicize the existence of NAPTIP and its 
commitment to pursuing traffickers and assisting victims. 
The agency does not have funding to air the ads, but 
officials have approached the minister of information as 
well as private companies and the European union to ask 
for support. 
 
CAMPBELL