Thousands of young Nigerian women continue to fall victim to human trafficking networks that lure them abroad with promises of lucrative jobs, only for many to end up trapped in cycles of sexual exploitation, forced labour, and abuse.
Experts warn that traffickers increasingly disguise themselves as travel agents, recruiters, and employment consultants, targeting vulnerable women seeking better economic opportunities outside Nigeria.
According to findings by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, migrants who depend on human trafficking networks often face extreme violence, including rape, torture, kidnapping, captivity, and other severe forms of abuse.
Data from the International Labour Organization indicates that an estimated 27.6 million people worldwide are trapped in forced labour, while approximately 4.9 million girls and women are subjected to commercial sexual exploitation.
‘I Was Forced Into Prostitution for Four Years’
One of the survivors, Aisha Olaniya, said her nightmare began in January 2019 when a woman she trusted promised her a restaurant job in Algeria.
Believing she was travelling for legitimate employment, the 26-year-old left Nigeria with hopes of improving her future. However, upon arrival, she discovered she had been trafficked and forced into prostitution.
According to her account, she was told she had to repay the expenses incurred in transporting her to Algeria. The debt became the justification for years of exploitation.
She spent four years in captivity between 2019 and 2023, during which she was allegedly bought and sold between traffickers and forced to engage in commercial sex work against her will.
Aisha said she was housed with other trafficked women in cramped conditions and denied freedom of movement.
She recalled being routinely transported to locations where men paid for sexual access to her, with all proceeds collected by the woman who controlled her.
According to her testimony, she was repeatedly subjected to sexual exploitation on a daily basis and witnessed disturbing incidents involving other victims.
She also claimed that several women gave birth while in captivity, but their babies were immediately taken away, with the mothers never informed of the children’s whereabouts.
After years of exploitation, she eventually escaped with assistance from the International Organization for Migration and returned to Nigeria.
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Rather than finding stability after returning home, Aisha said economic hardship and shame pushed her into accepting another overseas opportunity, this time in Cairo, Egypt.
She was promised employment as a housemaid and babysitter and informed that she would repay her travel costs through salary deductions. However, upon arrival, the terms allegedly changed.
She claimed her passport was confiscated by her sponsor and that most of her salary was withheld, leaving her with only a small fraction of her monthly earnings.
According to her account, she worked long hours performing domestic chores, childcare duties, and household maintenance with little rest.
She also alleged that despite suffering from persistent health complications, she was denied access to medical treatment until she completed repayment of her debt.
Mother of Two Recounts Torture During Journey to Libya
Another survivor, 27-year-old Apanise Toyosi, said she left Nigeria after being promised a fashion-designing job in Libya.
Hoping to provide a better future for her two children, she embarked on a journey that quickly descended into violence and abuse.
Toyosi alleged that she was secretly transported across borders under dangerous conditions and later abandoned after refusing sexual advances from those facilitating her movement.
She said she was left without food or water in an isolated shelter before being attacked by armed men.
According to her testimony, she survived severe physical abuse and sexual violence before eventually reaching Libya after more than a month of hardship. However, her suffering reportedly continued after arrival.
She said she was compelled to surrender her wages to her sponsor for over a year and was assigned domestic caregiving duties under degrading conditions.
Traffickers Exploit Poverty and Desperation, Expert Warns
Former Director-General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, Fatima Waziri-Azi, said traffickers frequently target women with offers of domestic work, hospitality jobs, modelling opportunities, caregiving positions, scholarships, and vocational training abroad.
According to her, traffickers are often people known to their victims, including relatives, friends, neighbours, acquaintances, former victims, and colleagues.
Waziri-Azi noted that while awareness campaigns remain important, they are insufficient on their own to curb human trafficking.
She identified poverty, unemployment, economic inequality, family pressures, and social media manipulation as major drivers of trafficking.
“When survival is at stake and no viable opportunities exist at home, risky options can appear attractive,” she explained.
She added that traffickers often use carefully crafted online narratives to glamorise life abroad, making it difficult for vulnerable individuals to recognise warning signs.
According to the anti-trafficking expert, awareness efforts must be accompanied by economic empowerment, job creation, education, justice, and social support systems.
The former NAPTIP chief called for a shift from reactive responses to preventive strategies aimed at addressing the root causes of trafficking.
She advocated targeted economic programmes for women in high-risk communities, including access to grants, interest-free loans, vocational training, and employment opportunities.
She also urged stricter regulation of labour recruitment agencies, enhanced oversight of overseas employment schemes, and stronger social protection programmes for vulnerable women, including widows, displaced persons, single mothers, and school dropouts.
“To reduce trafficking, we must stop the conditions that make it profitable and easy,” she said.