The International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Nigeria, Ikeja Branch, has urged traditional rulers to identify human trafficking warning signs, strengthen reporting and avoid interfering in criminal cases.
FIDA’s Country Vice-President, Mrs Eliana Martins, made the call in Lagos on Tuesday at a two-day engagement on coordinated action against Gender-Based Violence (GBV).
The engagement, with the theme ‘Strengthening Community Protection Systems Through Coordinated Action in Combating GBV’, brought together traditional, religious and government leaders.
Martins identified human trafficking as a major trigger of GBV, noting that secrecy, organised criminal networks and victims’ psychological trauma often hinder investigations and prosecution.
She urged traditional rulers to recognise traffickers’ tactics, particularly promises of education, financial relief and better living conditions used to deceive vulnerable families.
“Most families fall for those tricks,” she said, describing how traffickers exploit poverty and desperation to lure young people with promises of opportunities in cities.
Martins said victims often struggled to disclose their experiences because of psychological trauma, fear and pressure from traffickers, including those who compel them to swear oaths.
“Getting the girls who are trafficked to open up, to speak up as to their issues, who is handling them, where they are going, all those things, is not easy,” she said.
She explained that successful prosecution depended heavily on evidence presented in court, making victims’ willingness and ability to speak crucial to securing justice.
To address these challenges, Martins said FIDA, with support from the Ford Foundation, was connecting community leaders with relevant agencies.
These include the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), the National Human Rights Commission and the Nigeria Police.
Martins also cautioned traditional rulers against assuming judicial authority over criminal matters, stressing that such cases should be handled by the appropriate law enforcement agencies.
“According to her, police often say that there is interference from traditional rulers,” she said, describing concerns about community leaders handling criminal cases as though they were judges.
She said traditional rulers could advise, counsel and mediate in civil disputes but should refer criminal matters to the relevant authorities.
“In criminal matters, these are the relevant agencies,” Martins said, urging traditional rulers to make clear that crime would not be tolerated in their communities.
She also appealed to communities to provide psychosocial support for returning trafficking survivors and avoid stigmatising, shaming or blaming them.
Mr Oluwafemi Abe, Regional Coordinator of Giving Hope Care Initiative and a FIDA facilitator, said traditional rulers were strategically positioned to combat trafficking at grassroots level.
He explained that perpetrators, victims and law enforcement agencies operated within communities, placing local leaders in a strong position to support prevention, reporting and victim protection.
“Nobody lives in the country, nobody lives in the states, nobody lives in the nation. We all live at the community level,” Abe said.
He stressed that empowering traditional rulers was essential to driving meaningful change, particularly as declining reports of trafficking cases had contributed to low prosecution rates.
Abe said stakeholders needed to understand the different forms of trafficking, applicable legal frameworks and links with illegal adoption to identify deceptive recruitment practices.
He also highlighted the connections between human trafficking, drug and arms trafficking, and gender-based violence, noting that the crime operated across international borders.
Mrs Lydia Owoeye, NAPTIP’s Chief Intelligence Officer in Lagos, said the agency had established mechanisms to protect, rehabilitate and reintegrate trafficking survivors.
Owoeye said NAPTIP adopted a victim-centred approach, supported by specialised counselling units, rehabilitation programmes and vocational training initiatives.
She emphasised the need for collaboration among law enforcement agencies, traditional rulers, community leaders and other stakeholders to tackle trafficking effectively.
“We work with various non-governmental organisations and other parastatals to ensure that these victims are well-protected,” Owoeye said.
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