PATTERNS OF TRAFICKING IN PERSONS AND EMPOWERMENT STRATEGIES IN AKWA IBOM STATE, NIGERIA

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Abstract

This study investigated the Patterns of and Perceived Empowerment Strategies against Trafficking in Persons (TIPs) in Akwa Ibom State. Six objectives, six research questions and eight hypotheses guided the study. The descriptive survey design was employed in the study. Three population groups, consisting of 10,094 victims of TIPs, and 844 community leader and social workers were used. A sample of 1844 respondents (1000 victims of TIPs, and 844 community leaders and social workers) were drawn using systematic sampling technique. Three instruments (Proforma for Recording the Patterns of Trafficking in Persons–PRPTIPs, Perceived Empowerment Strategies Questionnaire-PESQ, and Key Informant interview Guide-KIIG) were used for data collection. Five specialists validated the instruments. The PESQ was subjected to reliability test using Split-half approach and reliability coefficient of .89 was obtained. Data from 1000 victims of TIPs and 844 social workers and community leaders were collected using PRPTIPs and PESQ respectively. Qualitative data were collected through KIIG. Percentages were used for analysis of descriptive data, while the eight hypotheses were tested using Chi-square at .05 alpha level. Findings showed that majority of TIPs victims were aged 11-20 years, and were mostly females. They had secondary school education. Majority of victims were of the 8th and above birth order. Majority of their parents had primary education, with main occupation as trading, fishing and farming. The victims were mostly from polygamous family, residing mainly in rural area. They were mostly Christians. The victims were of single than married persons. TIPs occurred more in dry season. Ceremonies and holidays mostly attracted TIPs. TIPs occurs mostly on Monday, Saturday and Friday, and in the months of December, October and January. TIPs occurred mostly in fourth and first quarters of the year. Victims of TIPs in Akwa Ibom State were mostly from Eket senatorial district. Hot climate attracted TIPs more than rainy condition. Victims were mostly led through swampy area than the rainforest area. Commercial locations like markets and hotels attracted TIPs. The factors sustaining TIPs were lifestyles of Nigerians returning from aboard, unequal job opportunities, porosity of border, greed, peer influence, large family size, huge financial gain by traffickers, girl child discrimination, low level of education, desire to migrate to foreign land, weak enforcement of TIP laws, loss of ethical values, high demand for commercial sex workers, ignorance and high poverty level. Government legislations were effective in mitigating TIPs. Empowerment strategies for combating TIPs were free and compulsory education, food security, free medical services, and provision of employment opportunities, and interest free loans to farmers, traders and technicians, and establishment of vocational training centre for apprenticeship. TIPs were independent of geographical location, level of education of victims’ parents, social conditions and seasons. Gender and holidays significantly influenced TIPs. The government was urged to legislate against factors sustaining TIPs.       

 CHAPTER ONE

Introduction

Background to the Study

            In recent times, trafficking in Persons (TIPs) otherwise referred to as human trafficking has become a global business that affects mostly children and young people, including women in developing countries. The United States government considers trafficking in persons to include all of the criminal conduct involved in forced labour and sex trafficking, essentially the conduct involved in reducing or holding someone in compelled service (United States Department of State, 2013-July 9). Trafficking in persons, according to United Nations (2000), denotes the recruitment, transportation, transfer, labouring or a receipt of persons, by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of powers or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation, servitude and child labour. Operationally, trafficking in persons is viewed as a modern day form of slavery. It refers to the use of deceit and coercion to recruit and transfer persons either internally within the domestic borders of a country or externally across international borders for the purpose of exploitation. Trafficking in persons differs from abduction in the sense that while TIPs is a modern day form of slavery, abduction is the forceful snatching away of people without negotiating for consent. Victims of human trafficking are young children, teenagers, men and women who are subjected to force, fraud or coercion for the purpose of sexual exploitation, servitude and child labour (Ekpe, 1986).  The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF, 1998) indicated that 4000 children were trafficked from Cross River and Akwa Ibom States to various parts of Nigeria as well as other countries. Internal human trafficking is predominant in some States of the Federation that are categorized as endemic.  Such States are Lagos, Ogun and Rivers States in the southern part of Nigeria and Kano, Katsina, Benue, Adamawa and Taraba States in the Northern part.  Cross River, Akwa Ibom and Ogun States provide outlets for external trafficking in persons to ltaly, Spain, Gabon, Benin Republic and Cameroon. 

            Considering the causes of trafficking in persons, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur (2014) reported that traffickers prey on people with promises of higher incomes to improve economic situations, support parents and families in villages, and escape from war and conflict. The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur explained that women and children are the key target group because of their marginalization in many societies, and their limited economic resources. Other key target groups include people from improvised and low income households, ethnic minorities, those with low levels of education and young rounding away from home.    

Furthermore, persons in rural communities are motivated to move to urban areas in search for better conditions of livelihood.  The differences in available opportunities in rural and urban areas aid migration and results in trafficking in persons.  Ebigbo (2002) revealed high population of trafficked children in some locations like Owerri, Part Harcourt, Lagos, Kano and Sokoto.  Similarly, Hellanilendu (2005) reported that trafficking camp exist in some sites in Ogun and Akwa Ibom State.  According to him, 400 children were rescued in Akwa Ibom State, which is one of the main departure points for Gabon.  The National Agency for the prohibition of Traffic in Persons – NAPTIP (2003) reported that between 2003 and 2007, it rescued over seven hundred and seventy six (776) victims of trafficking from various parts of the country. The report further revealed that eighty thousand, six hundred and thirty-three (80,633) trafficked Nigerians were deported into the country between 1999 and 2001 and ten thousand Nigerian commercial sex workers were seen on the streets of ltaly in 2001.

 According to Arlacchi (2000), TIPs has re-emerged as a fastest criminal industry in the world.   Arlacchi maintained that TIPs is the modern day practice of slavery with the consequences similar to those of trans-atlantic slave trade that affect the victims in the areas of health, economics, education and culture. The victims of human trafficking are forced or coerced into labour or sexual exploitation. Regrettably, the traffickers instill fear in victims and keep them enslaved under lock and key (Ekpe, 1986). 

            Millions of children and young people are forced out of school by parents and given out to people who eventually exploit them by recruiting them into commercial sex work or forced labours, or sending them into slavery in foreign countries where they are abused in different ways.  According to Ehindero (2004), much attention has been given to trafficking in drugs, arms and smuggling of illegal aliens, while trafficking of women and children still remains an issue which an average Nigerian citizen is less familiar with. The idea of TIP as asserted by UNICEF (2007) is a combination of criminal processes and behaviours, culminating in the violation of the fundamental human right of a person.  These violations undermine the core humanitarian values upon which UNICEF was founded and operates.  The processes of TIP evidently involved the victims being deceived, captured, sold and resold. Ndaguba (2006) revealed that intermediaries or agents who are well-known persons or acquaintances to the children’s parent, families, recruit trafficked children.  The agent may be uncle, brother, aunty or sister of the child.  The agent who is related to the child’s family makes it easy to conclude transaction involving the child to be trafficked with the family. Most often, the agent appears in a way that seems to convey the he or she is successful and only desires to improve the family status positively, while the parents are not aware of the consequences of the act.  He added further that agents thrive on falsehood or deceit in order to convince parents to release their children who are eventually trafficked.  The agents make false promises of either sending the child to school or training him or her in a trade or vocation but on reaching the destination, the child is violently exploited without the knowledge of the parents.

  According to UNICEF (2007), these processes put victims at risk of being abused and exploited in a way that threatens their normal development and their survival. Owasanoye (2002) explained that in such networking, the welfare of the victim is secondary to satisfying the commercial interest of the agents.  Long hours of work, without rest in the homes, hotels and mechanical workshops may lead to burn-out, stress and other health problems such as fatigue and headache. In like manner, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and Other Related Matter (NAPTIP, 2003) posited that TIP is the series of multi-stage processes of all acts and attempted acts involved in the recruitment, transportation within or across Nigeria borders, purchase, sale, transfer, receipt or harboring of a person involving the use of deception, coercion or debt bondage for the purpose of placing or holding the person servitude in forced or bounded labour, or in slavery.  Trafficking as a process begins with the abduction or recruitment for exploitation during which the victims is forced into sexual or labour servitude in another country.

            Ebigbo (2000) noted that TIPs have devastating effects on individual, society and nation.  He submitted that TIPs destroys the capacities of its victims to contribute to national development, while also exposing them to face a range and intensity of violence and consequent health problems that are both physical and emotional all of which affect their ability to be productive in the society. According to Ebigbo, trafficking also denies the victims the opportunity to have access to basic education pre-requisite to the acquisition of life skills, empowerment and well-being.

PATTERNS OF TRAFICKING IN PERSONS AND EMPOWERMENT STRATEGIES IN AKWA IBOM STATE, NIGERIA