What Causes Human Trafficking In Nigeria

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Causes of Humans trafficking in Nigeria
Trafficking in human beings especially women and children is largely a form of slavery. In the African state, Nigeria has acquired a reputation for being one of the leading African countries with internal trafficking and cross-border. After the economic fraud and the drug trade, transit and destination of human trafficking becomes the third largest crime in Nigeria. There are some causes that bring the problem of human trafficking in Nigeria included poverty, weak legal framework and perversion of cultural traditions (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organizations (UNESCO), 2006).
i) Poverty: Widespread poverty Among all the factors that cause the human trafficking in Nigeria, poverty always has been targeted as the principle driving force behind the human trafficking (Sanni, 2011, p.210). Poverty is usually listed as the first on any list of human trafficking factors in developing world. According to Daily Trust (2008), in 2008, 69 millions Nigerian lived in below poverty line and 70% below poverty level. It seems like Nigeria’s social status has remained very poor compared …show more content…

As regards trafficking linked to various types of forced labor, inadequate labor laws and regulations and poor enforcement create serious problems to the victims (Temesgen, n.d, p.5). In Nigeria, the lackluster attitude of law enforcement and a weak legal framework which mainly focuses on trafficking for sexual exploitation bring the human trafficking happen. According to UNESCO (2006), law enforcement agents are ill equipped and lack of the technical know-how and gender sensitivity to handle cases. They also unwilling to investigate violent crimes, especially those against women and children who are unable to pay the costs of investigations or bribe the investigating officers. Thus, sexual assaults and domestic violence largely go unpunished in