Trafficking in Persons (TIP) and Smuggling of Migrant (SOM) Hotlines

TIP/SOM- 0800 225 562 7847   --- 0800 CALL NAPTIP *

Others (Children protection/assistance)- 0800 800 8001**

*This is a toll-free hotline. The NAPTIP office can be reached at +234 07 03 00 00 203 or email at

info@naptip.gov.ng

**This is a hotline run by the Cece Yara Foundation, 

• The gender-based violence and child protection subsectors have in place functioning referral pathways and list of helpline numbers below find links:

• Gender-based violence area specific referral pathway19

• COVID 19 gender-based violence response pathways20

• Child protection referral pathways

Person can also call NIS: +234 708 060 7900 and +234 811 975 3844.21

Measures to Detect Trafficking in Persons (TIP) and Smuggling of Migrants (SOM) Cases Along the Borders

NAPTIP works with NIS and the Joint Border Task Force (JBTF) to detect cases of TIP at the borders. JBTF works with the British National Crime Agency from the Lagos, Benin, and Kano Airports as well as Heathrow and Gatwick. JBTF is composed of officers from NAPTIP, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

• NIS has the core mandate to facilitate entry and exit of persons in Nigeria.

• As part of the measures taken by NIS to detect cases of SOM, NIS in collaboration with IOM, with funding from various international donors, is equipping various points of entry with Border Management Information Systems (BMIS) for processing of all travelers. It is also integrating border management data into the main database of borders movements and into the overall NIS migration database, including linkages with the national watch list and INTERPOL-24/7.

• NIS in collaboration with IOM and relevant partners are currently identifying measures to ensure that officers are trained on profiling migrants and that strategies are put in place at the borders through the use of intelligence gathering. Local border communities along trafficking and smuggling routes are collaborating to detect cases.

• NIS establishes Border Patrol Forward Operation Bases at strategic locations for regular patrol and surveillance of border areas.

National Referral Mechanism (NRM) and/or Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)

A guide to the NRM is available and includes a list of referral partners (State and non-State actors). Its implementation lies with NAPTIP, with support from NGOs and international organizations.

In addition to the NRM guidelines:

• A comprehensive directory of referral partners is currently being developed in close coordination between NAPTIP and IOM.

• NIS in coordination with relevant agencies is also addressing SOM and TIP. In collaboration with the International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies (FIIAPP), it is currently working to publish standard operating procedures for TIP and SOM. The document has been validated by the national authority but is not yet officially released.

• The NIS establishes forward operating bases for cross-border patrols at strategic points along the borders to facilitate regular surveillance patrols

FRONTLINE ACTORS ON TIP:

THE NATIONAL COORDINATION TEAM

The overall coordination of the NRM is the responsibility of the NAPTIP.

• NAPTIP is the government agency with the mandate to coordinate all efforts to combat TIP in Nigeria.

• The NAPTIP director, who also is the national coordinator, shall be responsible for the smooth operation of the NRM on a daily basis, by responding to inquiries from service providers and facilitating effective collaboration by all members of the network.

• The national coordinator shall work with a team of seven persons representing key partners and organizations such as the NACTAL, LEAs, MDAs, which shall meet from time to time to discuss the operations of the NRM. This team shall provide technical support, monitoring, evaluation, and oversight function for the NRM.

• Partners should have designated focal persons in their respective organizations who should be contacted when the need arises.

• The coordinating team shall be replicated at zonal and state levels as applicable.

GOVERNMENT

The federal, state, and local governments shall engage in support services including rescue, referral, provision of security, legal, awareness-raising, advocacy, provision of microcredit, family tracing and reunion, victim referral, psychosocial support, rehabilitation, sheltering, health care, literacy and education, vocational and economic skills building. In addition, they receive, document, and refer trafficked persons to and from NAPTIP.

NON- GOVERNMENT PARTNERS

These include NGOs under the auspices of NACTAL and other civil society organizations at the grassroots relevant to providing assistance to trafficked persons. These partners shall inform and refer trafficked persons to NAPTIP and other service providers at the national, zonal, state, and local government levels. They provide services which include rescue, referral, legal support, awareness-raising, advocacy, provision of microcredit, family tracing and reunion, victim referral, psychosocial support, rehabilitation, prevention, sheltering, health care, literacy and education, vocational and economic skills building.

FRONTLINE ACTORS ON SOM:

In Nigeria, SOM cases are essentially referred to NIS and follow these procedures:

• Other law enforcement agencies that intercept suspects or smuggled migrants contact NIS through the communication steps contained in the SOP.

• Agencies without the facilities to keep suspects and/or smuggled migrants transfer such persons to the nearest NIS formation.

• Where there is no NIS formation nearby, suspects and smuggled migrants should be handed over to the nearest law enforcement agency or relevant civil society organizations, which should take further necessary steps to transfer people to the NIS.

The communication sequence is the following:

1. On suspicion of SOM, the field officer reports to his or her immediate superior.

2. The superior officer analyzes the case to confirm SOM elements.

3. The superior officer refers the case to NIS.

4. The law enforcement agency transfers the case files, exhibits, suspects, and smuggled migrants to NIS.

5. A stakeholder who intercepts a suspected case of SOM should refer it to the nearest LEA, CSO, or NIS.

6. International agencies and governments should contact the NIS as the focal agency in the fight against SOM in Nigeria.

Law Enforcement Agencies Responsible for Investigating Cases of Trafficking in Persons (TIP) and Smuggling of Migrant (SOM)

INVESTIGATIONS OF TBH:

NAPTIP is responsible for:

• Enforcing and administering the provisions of the TIPPEA 2015

• Coordinating and enforcing all other laws on trafficking in persons and related offences

• Adopting effective measures for the prevention and eradication of trafficking in persons and related offences

• Establishing coordinated preventive, regulatory, and investigatory machinery geared towards the eradication of trafficking in persons

• Investigating all cases of trafficking in persons including forced labour, child labour, forced prostitution, exploitative labour and other forms of exploitation, slavery and slavery-like activities, bonded labour, removal of organs, smuggling of migrants, and the sale and purchase of persons

INVESTIGATIONS OF SOM:

• NIS, in collaboration with NAPTIP, is responsible for:

• The control of persons entering or leaving Nigeria

• Issuance of travel documents, including Nigeria passports, to bona fide Nigerians within and outside Nigeria

• Issuance of residence permits to foreigner nationals in Nigeria

• Border surveillance and patrol

• Enforcement of laws and regulations with which they are directly charged

• Performance of such paramilitary duties within or outside Nigeria as may be required of them under the authority of the Trafficking In Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act or other enactments.

NIS’s capacity to collect evidence to support prosecution is done through:

• An investigation team under the Migration Directorate

• SOM units in 36 State Commands and Federal Capital Territory

• Field officers in 774 local government areas

Identity and Travel Documentation Investigation and Forensic Lab

• The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) is responsible for identity management in the country. As of 2019, NIMC has 15% of the total population registered in its database. National identity numbers are issued to citizens.

• NAPTIP has a forensic lab at its headquarters where phone analysis and biometric checks are conducted.

• NIS has Document Fraud Units at the service headquarters and five international airports that conduct forensic investigation into all fraudulent document related matters.

NIS, with the support of IOM, established the Migration Information and Data Analysis System (MIDAS) at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, Nigeria. 

Technical Working Groups

Nigeria has several Technical Working Groups (TWGs) working on TIP and SOM.

• The Technical Working Group on Migration under the National Migration Policy is the second level of coordination and consultation on migration-related matters. It consists of representatives of State and non- State actors involved in operational activities related to migration and makes recommendations to the Sector Policy Review Committee (SPRC) for approval. Its chair is the National Commission for Refugee Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI).

At the federal level, different thematic TWGs exist with respect to TIP and SOM.

• TWG on law enforcement

• TWG on protection

• TWG on partnership

A stakeholder consultative forum is convened at least once a year to bring together all actors dealing with TIP

In the context of northeast Nigeria, the government and other stakeholders formed the Anti Trafficking in Persons Task Force. The task force has three subcommittees: the Prevention Subcommittee, the Protection Subcommittee, and the Prosecution Subcommittee.

PREVENTION SUBCOMMITTEE

To conduct research, share information and document crime, to raise public awareness of trafficking in persons, to build the capacity of all stakeholders, to encourage government and non-State actors to carry out poverty alleviation programmes involving potentially vulnerable groups and targeted communities, to integrate cross-cutting issues such as, gender-based violence, gender, child protection into human trafficking awareness programmes, and promote religious and community linkages.

PROTECTION SUBCOMMITTEE

To establish a functional identification and referral system for reported cases of TIP, to incorporate TIP into protection monitoring systems, to ensure that all TIP cases are duly registered with NAPTIP, to share information on best practices, to enhance access to rehabilitation programmes for victims of trafficking, to organize capacity building trainings for relevant stakeholders, to facilitate VOTs’ access to justice and legal representation, to facilitate the provision of appropriate shelter and psychosocial support services to identified VOTs, to promote safeguarding within shelters by ensuring that staff and victims are aware of the problems; to minimize risks and prevent harm.

PROSECUTION SUBCOMMITTEE

It emphasizes to key actors such as NPF, NIS, and NSCDC the importance of timely reporting and responding to prosecutors and courts, defining strategies for protecting victims of TIP during reintegration, reporting and investigating incidents, and improving interagency coordination.

The agency in charge of Trafficking in Persons (TIP)/Smuggling of Migrants (SOM) data collection and processing

The collection of administrative data on trafficking and smuggling is carried out by NAPTIP in collaboration with the NIS.

• NAPTIP has a Department for Research and Programme. The Research Unit embarks on research and data collection to unearth the factors sustaining trafficking in persons. It also provides inputs for policy formulation and implementation aimed at tackling TIP in Nigeria. The Programme Development Unit helps the agency achieve its mandate of developing, monitoring, and evaluating various programmes to tackle traffic in persons and other related crimes in Nigeria. La victime qui a consenti à la réintégration doit se comporter de manière à ne pas compromettre sa réintégration ;