Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Nigeria (Ratification: 1960)

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Trafficking in persons. 1. Legal framework and penalties. The Committee previously noted the enactment of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act in 2015 (hereafter “Anti-Trafficking Act of 2015”), which provides for a detailed list of offences, such as trafficking in persons, forced labour, trafficking in slaves or slave dealing, as well as the penalties that are applied for each offence (sections 15, 16, 22, 24 and 25). The Committee also noted that the Anti-Trafficking Act provides for the establishment of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) under which special departments had been set up, such as the Investigation and Monitoring and the Legal and Prosecution Departments (section 11). Since its inception, the NAPTIP had arrested a number of suspected human traffickers, with convictions of 249 traffickers by the court.

The Committee notes the Government’s information in its report that the NAPTIP continues its collaboration with the civil society and takes actions to ensure the prompt response to distress calls. Moreover, an Anti-Trafficking Unit has been established in the Police Force. The Committee also notes that about 300 convictions of trafficking were handed down, while about 100 cases are still pending in court. It further notes the detailed information provided by the Government on the convictions of trafficking-related offences under the Anti Trafficking Act of 2015. Accordingly, among convictions handed down in 2017 and 2018, in eight cases offenders received penalties of imprisonment with an option of fines. However, the Committee observes that related provisions of the Anti-Trafficking Act of 2015 provide for penalties of imprisonment without an option of fines or together with fines. Similarly, in its concluding observations of 2017, the UN Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (CMW) expressed its concern that, although the Anti-Trafficking Act of 2015 removed judges’ ability to impose a fine in lieu of a prison sentence for trafficking offences, the courts continue to penalize traffickers with only fines in certain cases (CMW/C/NGA/CO/1, paragraph 55). Referring to paragraph 319 of the 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, the Committee recalls that, when the sanction consists only of a fine or a very short prison sentence, it does not constitute an effective sanction in light of the seriousness of the violation and the fact that the sanctions need to be dissuasive. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the Anti-Trafficking Act of 2015 is applied so that sufficiently effective and dissuasive penalties of imprisonment are imposed and enforced in all cases. The Committee also requests the Government to continue providing information on the application in practice of the Anti-Trafficking Act of 2015, indicating the activities of the NAPTIP, the statistical data on cases of trafficking for labour or sexual exploitation, as well as information on the outcome of the legal proceedings that have been instituted and the penalties imposed on perpetrators.

2. Protection and assistance for victims of trafficking in persons. The Committee previously noted the Government’s reference to different measures taken with regard to the protection and assistance for victims of trafficking, such as: (i) the development and adoption of an operational guideline on a national referral mechanism; (ii) the training of officers of the counselling and rehabilitation department in order to professionalize social work in the agency; and (iii) the remodelling and improvement of the NAPTIP Transit Shelters to provide quality service to the victims. A total of 9,738 victims were rescued and rehabilitated during the year. Moreover, the Committee noted the provisions dealing with victims’ rehabilitation facilities, legal and medical assistance, and training facilities under the Anti-Trafficking Act of 2015 (sections 61–68). It noted in particular that under section 67, a Trust Fund for victims of trafficking shall be established to pay compensation, restitution and damages to trafficked persons.

The Committee notes the Government’s information that that Trust Fund has been established. Various services, such as vocational training, counselling and other reintegration activities, are provided to victims. According to the Government’s 2018 report under the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), the total number of trafficking victims who benefited from the rehabilitation programme of the Government from 2015–18 (June) amounts to 2,731. The Committee also notes from the Government’s replies of 2017 to the list of issues related to its periodic reports to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) that the eight shelters operated by the NAPTIP provide temporary accommodation to victims for a period of six weeks and that the NAPTIP partners with other privately owned shelters for victims who need a longer stay in order to ensure witness protection, counselling and rehabilitation (CEDAW/C/NGA/Q/7-8/Add.1, paragraphs 53 and 60). The Committee further notes from the 2017 concluding observations of the CMW that there is a lack of information on mechanisms to identify victims, provide support and facilitate their rehabilitation and on the availability of such mechanisms throughout the country (paragraph 55). The Committee therefore requests the Government to strengthen its efforts to ensure that victims of trafficking for purposes of both sexual and labour exploitation are identified and provided with adequate protection and assistance. The Committee also requests the Government to continue providing information on the number of victims who have been identified, who have benefited from protection and assistance services and who have received compensation from the Trust Fund.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.