Nigeria’s renewed efforts to combat human trafficking have gained fresh momentum following a €1.43 million Common Operational Partnership signed with France and Italy, a move migration experts describe as long overdue and strategically vital. The partnership, co-funded by the European Union and set to run until 2027, aims to strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to dismantle trafficking networks and protect vulnerable citizens.
Human trafficking remains one of the country’s most persistent challenges, with an estimated one million Nigerians trafficked each year, according to a 2022 migration report. Despite the creation of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) in 2003, the criminal networks behind the trade have continued to evolve, leaving thousands trapped in abuse, exploitation, and irregular migration routes.
Under the new agreement, officials from Nigeria, France and Italy will work jointly to boost intelligence sharing, expand investigations, and deepen victim-centred interventions. EU Ambassador to Nigeria, Gautier Mignot, said the initiative will rely on a “practical, results-driven methodology,” including targeted training, equipment support and daily mentoring for frontline officers.
French Ambassador Marc Fonbaustier described human trafficking as a “devastating scourge” that no nation can fight alone, stressing that the partnership reflects a shared moral duty to protect vulnerable people—particularly women and children—who often fall prey to transnational criminal networks. He said the project will strengthen law enforcement and promote coordinated support for survivors.
NAPTIP’s Director General, Binta Adamu Bello, said the programme will begin with pilot operations in Cross River, Osun, Katsina and the Federal Capital Territory—hotspots along high-risk trafficking corridors. She emphasised that the initiative will enhance prosecutions, improve intelligence gathering, and introduce evidence-based frameworks for tackling complex trafficking trends.
Migration experts have applauded the collaboration, arguing that Nigeria urgently needs such alliances to curb irregular migration and reduce the country’s vulnerability to organised crime. Osita Osemene, a reintegration trainer for returned migrants, said the partnership could become a “masterstroke” by providing resources for both enforcement and the resettlement of returnees, who are often at risk of being re-recruited into trafficking rings.
Stakeholders say the programme must be backed by stronger awareness campaigns, improved data management and better economic support for vulnerable groups. They also urge government agencies to use returnees as anti-trafficking advocates, warning that without sustained intervention, many victims could eventually become traffickers themselves.
