BY EBUN SESSOU
Rosemary, 12 years, was deceptively brought to Lagos for a greener pasture. Three months later, she was lured into sleeping with older men every night for a sum of N4000. She continued in the act until she encountered one Mrs Blessing Apata, who took interest in her. After interrogations, it was discovered that she had been involved in sexual trafficking.

According to her, “My mother’s friend brought me to Lagos. I am from Abia State, and I came to Lagos because she said she was going to take me to America. She told my mother that she was going to help me with my education. I was in secondary school but because of her financial constraint, she had to support her friend’s decision.

“My expectations were cut short when I was lured into prostitution. At a point, I was pregnant. I did not need the child. So, she told me to be patient, that she was going to take care of the situation. I gave birth to the baby but I didn’t know what happened to the baby. This is my first visit to this part of the country. We were having it raw without any protection. I knew nothing about condoms or protection pills. I am sure that my baby is with one unknown person. After the pregnancy, I’ve had lots of abortions because I don’t want to be pregnant. I am now addicted to the act and I don’t know how to come out”, she added.

Joy Ezeilo

In another development, one Chinwe Okoro, said her girlfriend brought her to Lagos. “She resides in Lagos but came home recently when I explained everything to her. She told me not to worry that everything would be well. Unfortunately, I didn’t know I was pregnant. The boy who impregnated me told me he did not need any baby for now and that I should do whatever I liked with the pregnancy. But at a point, he denied ever sleeping with me and rejected the pregnancy.

“My parents did not know when I finalised arrangements to come to Lagos. They did not know that I was pregnant in the first instance and could not have imagined that I was in Lagos to get rid of the baby. So, my friends introduced me to a motherless home where I was kept for a period of six months. So, I delivered the baby and was given a sum of N30,000 because it was a female child. So, I moved on with my life. I was told that the baby will automatically become government’s baby. The baby was taken by them.”

Grace David, from Abia State said, “My aunty brought me here. When I was coming, we had agreed that I would leave the baby behind after delivery. I do not need it for now. I was in secondary school, precisely, at the Holy Rosary Secondary School and in SSS 3, when I got pregnant about six months ago. I know abortion is dangerous, though many girls indulge in it. I thought of what to do with the pregnancy since I did not need the baby.

So, my aunty told me about this arrangement, where you can abandon your child at the Home. I do not want any trace of the child to me. I have given the child to the Home after delivery. The Home will now pass it to the government. The guy who impregnated me is in school, the University of Calabar. He abandoned me and I also want to abandon the baby. I do not want any extra burden.

“I came here alone. My parents do not know anything about the Home and also did not know that I am here now. They did not know that I was pregnant. I signed some documents where I agreed that I willingly gave the child to the Home. What they do with the child is not my business. I mean, whoever they gave it to is not my business. I do not want an additional responsibility for now. I have my life to live.

“By the time I was leaving home for this place, I did not tell those at home the truth about where I was going. The guy who impregnated me or his parents cannot ask me what happened to the baby. Even if that happens, I will know what to say at the right time.”

These and many more are the issues surrounding human trafficking, especially the female child in Nigeria. Accordingly, a particular home, Good Shepherd Orphanage, Okota, Lagos was reportedly involved in selling of babies until the owner was apprehended in 2005. Investigation showed that the owner of the home, Pastor Gift John, was connected with some top people in the country who were supporting her course.

Immigration boss reacts

The Comptroller-General, Nigeria Immigration Service, Mrs. Rose Uzoma, said, there are efforts by the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) to assist the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) in checkmating the activities of human traffickers. Citing relevant example, she said, 18 people suspected to be victims of human trafficking were rescued.

Parading the 18, Comptroller General of the Service, Mrs Rose Uzoma, said although the NIS was yet to identify the trafficker, experience had shown that they had no genuine business going to Cairo other than being victims of a trafficking syndicate.

“The 18 victims, of whom 17 are females, were said to be on their way to Cairo, Egypt, when they were nabbed by men of the NIS attached to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. They claim they are going to Egypt for business, but considering the state of affairs in Egypt currently, one would wonder what kind of business these very young women are going to conduct in Egypt. “

There was another case of 16 children who were suspected to be victims. Two immigration officers who were going home at the close of work during the week at about 8.30pm saw a crowd of people dragging a white lady out of the vehicle with a white gulf car. They got curious and found out that the woman conveying those children, 10 male and six female, were coming from Kaduna to Abuja. What caught the interest was that some of the children were found in the boot compartment. Then the officer got to AYA junction under the over-head bridge. He managed the situation by identifying with a NAPTIP officer to calm the situation and took them to Asokoro Police Station.

“We have been in the vanguard of the fight against human trafficking. From time to time, we, immigration officers station at the international airport, land border apprehend a group number of human trafficking as well as traffickers. From time to time, European authorities return them to Nigeria. What we are doing is to save them from the trend and apparent danger of being forced into prostitution and other force labours. We now stop them when we are convinced that they do not have genuine reason for travelling.

“And for the younger children, as far as we establish that the children are not their biological children, we stop the children. We monitor them from the issuance of passport. When people come to the office for issuance of passport.”

NAPTIP speaks

Executive Secretary of the National Agency for Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and Other Related Matters (NAPTIP), Barrister Simon Chuzi Egede, said that the agency had recorded 120 convictions with 87 cases still pending in various courts around the country. He said that a number of rescued victims had been rehabilitated, while the agency had plans to launch the National Action Plan on human trafficking, aimed at strengthening the fight against Trafficking in Persons.

Internal trifficking of the girl child

Internal trafficking of women and children is not new. It has been going on with the trafficking of people from rural communities to major cities such as Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Kaduna, Calabar, Warri and Port Harcourt, predominantly for exploitative domestic work, scavenging, begging and prostitution. The busy schedules of families who are mainly working class, makes high demand for domestic servants imperative.

Trafficking for organised begging takes place mostly in the Northern part of Nigeria where physically challenged or disabled persons are lured into begging business in major cities such as Kano and Kaduna. Experienced adult beggars traffic children under their custody. These children are then compelled to lead the handicapped into organised begging, they are forced to do this for practically nothing or without any reward other than the daily meals that may be handed out to them along the streets. These trafficked children are denied access to formal education and proper social upbringing.

Baby harvesting is another type of human trafficking in Nigeria. In states like Ebonyi, Abia and Lagos, there are cases of hospitals, clinics, orphanages, doctors and nurses who keep teenage and single mothers who do not want to keep their babies after birth to provide them shelter and care while they are pregnant and sell off their babies for a premium to couples that need them. They are made to sign papers renouncing their rights to the babies as well as swear to oaths of secrecy. The Good Shepherd Orphanage in Lagos was reported to be engaged in illegal adoption of babies as well as sheltering young pregnant girls and selling off their babies at birth. Many of these babies sold cannot be traced and one cannot determine what became of them.

The Good Shepherd Orphanage, it was learnt, was shut down by the government for allegedly engaging in child trafficking and the selling of babies. Eleven arrests were made, and the children, including some pregnant girls, were moved to other state institutions.

In her confessional statement to the police the proprietress of the Good Shepherd Orphanage Home, Pastor Gift John, allegedly admitted to have been engaged in the burning of babies, but denied doing so for ritual purposes. According to a police source, the woman claimed that she was cremating only the babies who died at her orphanage in mysterious circumstances. She claimed that she did not seek government’s permission for such activities because she was sure that such requests would not have been granted.

Sub-Sahara Africa, west and central, are major sources coming second after South East Asia in terms of human trafficking. Poverty, unemployment, gender equalities and discrimination are some causes of trafficking. Some cultural and religious practices allow people to treat women as sub humans. People are trafficked for the purpose of adoption though adoption is not illegal. But false pregnancies, womb renting make adoption illegal. There are no adoption records. There is another issue of cultural stigma which shouldn’t be. Some people want to pretend that they are the real parents of the adopted children.

Review adoption law UN– tells Nigeria

Everybody must be involved, says the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, especially women and children, Ms. Joy Ngozi Ezeilo from Nigeria, “There is need for urgent review of Nigerian law on adoption of children. In the Northern Nigeria, what is used is the Fostering laws while the adoption laws in other parts of the country are ineffective. There is need to educate people on adoption. The child that is adopted should be aware when he or she is of age. I believe it needs professional approach. There is need for more rigorous system for those who are adopting.

But there are illegal adoption of babies ranging from N350,000 for girls and N500,000 a boy. It is trading in helpless and innocent children. So, there must be proper technology put in place for checking of adopted children.

Another thing is that the motherless babies homes in Nigeria should be properly supervised and registered under the law because they are part of the abuses we have in the system today. Any man that abandons pregnancy should be severely punished. There are hundred of cases where young girls are pregnant and abandoned. So, every man has to be responsible for his child. I think what is breeding responsibilities of some men in the society is because they are made to be responsible for whatever atrocity made to pay for child support. It is a pity that some of the child’s laws are ineffective. Every man must be punished for every offense committed.

It’s a national shame

Reacting to the issue, the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajia Zainab Maina, said the ministry is collaborating with the Ministry of Education on the area of the welfare of the girl-child. “Our major focus is educating the girl child in ensuring that children generally in particularly girls are not engaging in street hawking. They should be in the school and not on the street. In Abuja, there are lots of measures put in place to contain the act, one is arresting child hawker and punishing their parent. If a child is hawking, the parent must be penalised. We have been moving from one place to the other instilling in parents and traditional rulers and other stakeholders that it is important to educate the girl-child because she is the mother of the nation. The moment you educate the girl, the nation is educated. We will be going from state to state and lay emphasis on Alamajiri syndrome. It shouldn’t happen at all. Nigeria has sufficient and enough resources to make sure that every child is trained at the primary school level freely. And talking about child protection is important. No parent has right to decide on the child without his or her consent. The child’s right says children should be given the right to participate in decision making.

Asked if there is any regulation on illegal adoption of children, the minister said, “The Nigerian Child’s Right is supposed to be adopted by every state in the federation. And for child adoption, there are rules and regulations. No body can come out that he wants to adopt without passing through the processes and conditions to be fulfilled. “When an individual comes for adoption, then the authority will carry out some investigations on the person, where he or she stays, background and make sure that the environment is condition and not that the person is adoption for a negative motive. And whatever happens, the person will be monitored. The children will also have access to external monitor who will hitherto monitor everything that comes around her. And the person that is adopting must show sufficient cost and grants that she or he is genuinely interested in doing so. Once the conditions are meant, the person will obtain the necessary forms which are available at the Ministry of Women Affairs and social development. On homes and illegal selling of babies, it is an offense against the state. Being a criminal offense, there are agencies that will come in, arrest, investigate and prosecute the offender. And if the offense committed is worth sending the person to jail, so be it and if it is to caution the person, the law will do so. Criminal offenses do not attract fines.

“We work in partnership with NAPTIP as stakeholders to check human trafficking in the country. It is a national shame when we see Nigerians seen as illegal aliens else where. It pains us but all the same time, we must provide a conducive atmosphere back at home to keep the citizens at home and curb the excesses of them being engage in worrisome practices.