THE Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) has called for urgent and coordinated efforts to tackle human trafficking in Nigeria.
In a statement on Wednesday, July 30, to commemorate the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, the Centre described human trafficking as one of the most organised forms of modern-day slavery.
While expressing solidarity with victims and survivors of trafficking, the Centre urged stakeholders, including government, law enforcement officers, media and civil society, to treat the issue as a calculated criminal enterprise rather than just a humanitarian crisis.
“This year’s theme, ‘Human trafficking is organised crime – End the exploitation,’ is a reminder that trafficking is a calculated and profit-driven enterprise, often enabled by weak systems, corruption and silence. To dismantle these networks, we must treat trafficking not merely as a humanitarian issue but as a criminal enterprise requiring systemic disruption.
“For WSCIJ, this includes supporting journalists to investigate and expose trafficking rings, uncover complicity at all levels and push for reforms that prioritise victim protection over blame,” the statement added.
The Centre, known for empowering journalists to expose human rights violations, highlighted the critical role of investigative journalism in breaking the silence around trafficking networks, adding that without exposing the hidden economies and complicity enabling trafficking, efforts to end it would remain superficial.
“In 2014, the investigative story titled ‘Inside Nigeria’s Ruthless Human Trafficking Mafia,’ by Tobore Ovuorie, won the Report Women category of the Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting (WSAIR). The piece was an unflinching look into the operations of trafficking rings in Nigeria, showing the sheer scale of exploitation and institutional neglect. In 2023, Sharon Ijasan received the WSAIR award in the TV category for her story, ‘Human trafficking: sad realities of trafficked Nigerians in Libya, West-Africa.’ The story exposed the route many traffickers ply; brought to the fore that traffickers collaborate with transporters to perpetuate the crime; revealed the trafficker of a survivor, and uncovered the sex camp where Nigerian girls are forced to sell their bodies,” the statement added.
It further said it had been actively building the capacity of reporters to cover migration and trafficking ethically and thoroughly, adding that in 2019, it partnered with UNESCO to host a two-day masterclass for 22 journalists on migration reporting.
According to the Centre, the training examined links between trafficking, organ trade, migration law, and journalist safety.
The Centre also pointed to findings from its report ‘Missing Data, Missing Justice,’ which it said showed the gendered impact of human trafficking in Nigeria.
It noted that the report found that trafficking accounted for nearly four per cent of all stories focused on women and girls, underlining the urgent need for gender-responsive interventions.
The organisation called on the Nigerian government to show stronger political will by reforming laws, resourcing enforcement agencies, and ensuring perpetrators are held accountable, regardless of their social or political standing.
It also urged civil society organisations to ramp up public education and survivor-centred advocacy, and encouraged newsrooms to invest more in trafficking coverage and investigative work.
“WSCIJ calls on all relevant stakeholders, including the government, law enforcement agencies, the judiciary, civil society, international partners and the media to take urgent and coordinated action to dismantle the complex networks that fuel human trafficking. We urge the government to demonstrate stronger political will by strengthening legal and policy frameworks, resourcing enforcement agencies, holding perpetrators accountable regardless of their status and offering adequate support to survivors.
“We also call on civil society and development actors to intensify advocacy, public education and survivor-centred support systems, while working hand-in-hand with journalists to push for structural reforms. We encourage newsrooms to prioritise trafficking coverage, build the capacity of journalists to report safely and ethically and invest in investigative reporting that reveals the hidden economies of exploitation,” it stressed.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M