Human trafficking and child exploitation in Nigeria

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has issued warnings regarding an increase in reports of parents and guardians facilitating the sexual exploitation of minors. NAPTIP Director General Binta Adamu Bello described the trend as an “extreme betrayal of parental responsibility” following the arrest of a woman in Abuja for allegedly handing her teenage daughter over to men for money.

Subsequent law enforcement operations have targeted various forms of illegal child sales and trafficking. In Lagos State, police rescued three young girls during a patrol in Badagry. In Bayelsa and Benue States, NAPTIP and the Department of State Services arrested four individuals, including a federal civil servant, who are accused of conspiracy and the buying and selling of babies.

Expanding into transnational crime, the Nigeria Police Force Intelligence Department Special Tactical Squad arrested three suspects, including an alleged gang leader, following an investigation into an international trafficking network. The operation, conducted throughout October 2026, resulted in the rescue of a 21-year-old Nigerian woman from Mali. Investigators report the victim was allegedly lured with promises of employment before being moved through Lagos and Benin into Mali. Once in Mali, she was reportedly sold for approximately 420,000 CFA francs and subjected to physical assault and coerced prostitution. Police also disclosed that approximately 42 Nigerian women were being held in a makeshift camp within a remote gold-mining settlement in Mali, where they were allegedly subjected to forced prostitution and slave-like conditions.