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The yearly report of the State of Women’s Rights in Nigeria gives the reader an insight into the realities of life in Nigeria. The objective of the report is to create awareness on the actual state of women’s rights here in Nigeria. As Donald Trump said, ‘awareness is the first step to progress’. When there is nation wide awareness about the general status of women in Nigeria, we the citizen’s can take action to redress the situations we want to change. We will be able to hold our elected leaders accountable. We will be able to give them assignments to perform, monitor their activities to ensure that they actually perform them. The report is not a monologue but a dialogue of different voices, recorded and documented throughout the year in review. Some sections reflect my views which are based on my experience as a Nigerian, a woman, a lawyer, a human rights activist and a mother. Where I make my opinions I sign my name for the reader to differentiate my own personal opinions from the other reports.

The reason we at Women’s Rights Watch continue to produce a yearly report on the State of Women’s Rights in Nigeria, is to inform policy makers and the Nigerian public of fact based situation reports about the realities of life in Nigeria. Though we have been posting detailed reports on the internet since 2003, we realise that the huge majority of our citizens do not use the internet. I have attended public fora where policy makers deny that there is gender inequality in their own states or try to portray women’s rights activists as alarmists and busy bodies. That is why this year we have made efforts to record gender issues on a state by state basis and analyse our findings. We regard this report as a reality check and a monitoring and tracking tool for every Nigerian who is concerned with peace and justice. Bob Marley the great composer musician said that he wanted ‘equal rights and justice.’ Peace cannot thrive where there is inequality, injustice and corruption. Without gender equality and equity, we cannot achieve development if half of the population is marginalized and discriminated against. We must wake up from our collective denial. I have met women who have proudly stated that there is no discrimination against women, that women have been given equal opportunities as men. I always remind them that just because their own families gave them opportunities does not mean that is the general situation.

We have tried to improve on our past reports by introducing a commentary, an index for easier reference. We have also introduced an analysis on issues according to states or regions where these violations are prevalent .This is a form of tracking tool to hold our law makers and policy makers accountable. They should know the issues that affect women’s rights as they occur in their areas. In presenting the report we have arranged the topics in parts according to priority. You will all agree that trafficking in persons is modern slavery and the worst form of abuse. The trafficked victim totally losses his/her rights as a human person. Thanks to the massive awareness created by NGOs most especially WOTCLEF and the Federal Government by the creation of a national agency on human trafficking, The National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and Other Related Matters(NAPTIP), there has been an increase in arrests and of citizens reporting suspected traffickers to the authorities. We have given the section on human trafficking priority reporting because we believe that human trafficking is modern slavery and one of the worst forms of human rights violation. The victim of trafficking loses all their fundamental human rights guaranteed by our constitution. They have no human dignity, no personal liberty no fundamental freedoms and are discriminated against by their captors.

The issue of HIV/AIDS is a growing threat to the survival of Nigeria, it is no longer only a health issue and it has been given priority reporting after trafficking. It is an issue of national security and the United Nations has called it a global emergency! Our most precious resource, the human capital is being decimated by HIV/AIDS, it affects the economy and every aspect of our nation. The Nigerian government has designed numerous policies and programme to mitigate the pandemic with the establishment of national, state and local government institutions-NACA(National Action and SACA, the question however is there is no attitudinal change on th part of Nigerians .Polygamy is a way of life and high risk sexual behaviour and multitude partners is still prevalent in spite of the massive sensitization by government, NGO and other international development partners.

As they say, Health is wealth,’ therefore the health of Nigerian women and their children is an area of paramount importance. We can say therefore that a healthy nation is a wealthy nation. We have highlighted health issues that affect us, and we believe that in policy planning and execution gender MUST be mainstreamed into national, state and local government annual budget. Health is a very broad issue so we have reported and arranged that section according to topics, for example, maternal mortality, FGM: we have therefore grouped them by topics and not by moths to make it easier for the reader to follow.

Education is featured after health because if we want to join the rest of the world in the information age we MUST give priority attention to education .It is not acceptable that 47% of Nigerians are illiterate, that is a very large section of the population cut off from global trends and the knowledge economy. It is bad enough that internet penetration is still very low amongst our educated citizens. Without an educated population we cannot break the shackles of ignorance, backwardness, underdevelopment and poverty.

The human rights of people with disabilities are a much neglected aspect of human rights awareness, yet there are an estimated 10% of Nigerian citizens suffering from one disability or another. There is therefore a need for national awareness on the importance of respecting and enforcing the human rights of people living with disabilities so that disability rights should be mainstreamed into all aspects of national development.

We believe that corruption is one of the major causes of poverty in Nigeria because national resources that would have been channelled to productive use fin their way into private pockets and in foreign accounts where they are used to develop other countries. The insensitivity and corruption of our leaders is what has given rise to the Niger Delta crisis that we are presently grappling with. Our leaders should learn that public office is a call to service not a call for corrupt enrichment.

On the issue of reported cases on violence against women, our worst fears finally became a reality when a woman was stoned to death. Violence against women in many case maim and kill. Men are physically stronger than women so we are always worse off after any physical encounter with men. We must continue to advocate against wife battery which is one of the common area where violence is found. In Nigeria , wife battery is not an offence. It is only when death occurs that the police can charge the husband for murder, a famous example of that is the case of the State V Nafiu Rabiu. We need legal protection for women, violence in the home is life threatening and extremely traumatic. We need a law that allows the police to apply for a restraining order against a violent husband. There has also been an alarming increase in reports on sexual violence against children. This is a frightening development because such acts are a threat to the survival and the psychological well being of the girl child. More awareness has to be created on the need for parents to b more security conscious about the whereabouts of their children. Paedophiles are usually neighbours, house helps or close relations who children are familiar with, children due to their trusting nature may also be lured by sweets. We must enlighten parents of these threats in other to protect our children.

The economic rights of Nigerian women are discussed in Part 9 of the report. Women are the mothers of the nation, we perform a national duty that has been totally over looked by our policy makers. The upbringing and character building of the citizen starts at the home before it proceeds to the communities and society in general. If the home environment is under severe stress and poverty, how do we expect such children to become valuable members of the nation? We highlight the some of the causes of feminization of poverty in Nigeria. There is an increase of female headed households in Nigeria due either to single motherhood, divorce or widowhood. These families are usually the poorest of the poor and the women find it difficult to cope with their often large families. These women need social safety nets which only the government can provide. Traffickers usually go to such families to get their victims; they lure them with stories of wealth and a better life that these poor ignorant people cannot resist. In times past, the extended family system provided succour for such women in Nigeria. Unfortunately, the extended family system is fast disintegrating and there is an urgent need for new solutions. If we are serious about tackling poverty in Nigeria, social security for mothers is a strategy that needs to be adopted to break the vicious cycle of poverty in Nigeria.

Part 10 discusses the property rights of Nigerian wives, the reader will discover that Nigerian wives have very little rights to property acquired during marriage. Worse still the prevalent polygamous nature of Nigerian men places the little rights they have under severe jeopardy. In Nigeria, there is no alimony and therefore the wife is dependent on the judges to award maintenance as they deem fit. I have appeared before judges who do not believe in divorce due to their religious inclinations, therefore award of maintenance is arbitrary and differs from case to case. There are three different types of marriages in Nigeria: a) under the Marriage Act, which entitles the wife to one third of the property upon the death of her husband; b) under Islamic law, which entitles the wife to some portion of the man’s property and c) under customary law, which does not recognise a wife’s right to property. In some areas, the wife is inherited upon the demise of her husband!

Finally our worst fears happened! A woman was stoned to death in Nigeria- not a court ordered decision but by mob action. Who know how much state sanctioned death by stoning capital punishment which swept over northern Nigeria in 2002 influenced the public psyche. Even though nobody has been executed under these laws and there were no reported cases throughout 2006, the laws are however still in the statute books.

We at WRW have strived to consistently improve on our yearly report and this year is no exception. We have included new issues which we believe are crucial to the survival of the Nigerian woman in the 21^st century. We now have a section on corruption as a violation of human rights and sustainable human and national development. We have also included disability rights in the discourse because the rights of persons living with disabilities are one of the most neglected areas in our national development agenda. This is causing a huge segment of our population to be marginalized and disempowered. The property rights of wives is also discussed under this report

On the issue of reported cases on violence against women, our worst fears finally became a reality when a woman was stoned to death by a mob in State. The killing was not in execution of a court sentence but by a mob. There has also been an alarming in reports on sexual violence against children. This is a frightening development because such acts are a threat to the survival and the psychological well being of the girl child. More awareness has to be created on the need for parents to b more security conscious about the whereabouts of their children. Paedophiles are usually neighbours, house helps or close relations who children are familiar with, children due to their trusting nature may also be lured by sweets. We must enlighten parents of these threats in other to protect our children.

The reported cases on violence against women (31 cases are reported) ,show that in spite of all the activities of women’s rights organisations women are still being raped and killed at an unacceptable rate. Some of the causes of their death are frightening. It shows a high level of cruelty, intolerance, anger and violence in the society. Our national institutions, such as the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, Federal Ministry of Information, National Human Rights Commission and the National Orientation Agency should invest more on massive nation wide grassroots attitudinal change programmes to enhance the security of women and girls in Nigeria. This report is also aimed at increasing our security consciousness. We should be vigilant about our children’s and our own safety as much as possible. We should use the reported cases as examples to learn what not to do to avoid repeat situations. I believe that we also have to learn from other people’s mistakes or experiences.

The discourse on the economic rights of Nigerian women in part 9 of our report, shows that there are still a lot of constraints militating against the economic empowerment of Nigerian women. First and foremost is the total absence of institutional safety nets for Nigerian mothers, who most of the times bear the brunt of caring for their large families. The situation of females who head their household is even worse; it is very common in our cities to see mothers carrying their off spring begging. Children who are supposed to be in school are being trained to be the next generation of beggars. Our report reveals that Minister of Education, Mrs Obiageli Ezekwesili, on Monday the 11^th of December 2006 said that 19.8 million Nigerian children eligible for primary school education were out of the school system. This is not acceptable in this 21^st century information age. This is too high a proportion already being assigned to a life of exclusion and marginalisation. Our elected leaders must do more for the vast majority of citizens struggling for daily survival in Nigeria. We as Nigerians should begin to learn to hold our leaders accountable. It is just not enough for us to give them our votes. We must learn to articulate our needs, monitor and track their performance instead of turning them to celebrities and demi- gods to be worshipped and adored.

The facts are obtained from daily newspaper reports, which of course are the raw materials used in recording and reporting history. I have always been fascinated by history and I know that if I had not read law, I would have read history; my father made me change my course, but that is another story for another time.

In conclusion, a critical analysis of the Report on the State of Women’s Rights in Nigeria show that gender discrimination, violence against women and inequality is still pervasive in Nigeria and the respect for human dignity is alarmingly low. Therefore more work has to be done by all to stop this trend.

PART 1- HUMAN RIGHTS IN NIGERIA

HOW TO STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN – NGO ¹

In a bid to curb violence against women, especially in the Niger Delta region, government has been enjoined to enact laws and institute policies and programmes to actively integrate women in decision making processes, management and administration of affairs of their communities.

Similarly an enabling environment should be provided to help women acquire civic education and also build their capacities to participate actively in their affairs. These were part of a six point communiqué issued at the end of a three-day consensus building workshop for women in conflict zones organized by Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC) which took place in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

The communiqué noted that since women do not actively take part in conflicts, yet suffer the most, laws, norms, values and traditions that impede women rights should be abrogated. Programmes should be put in place to empower women politically and economically to enable them ascertain their rights. “Non governmental organizations should support women to become agents of intervention and change,.

The participants contended that if the recommendations at the workshop were strictly adhered to society would be more organized and sustainable development would be achieved. In an apparent bid to give a bite to its resolutions, the participants at the three days workshop, inaugurated a Community Peace Advocates (CPA) a group of women to watch and prevent violence against women in peace and conflict times in the Niger Delta. Signed by Ms. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi and Emem J. Okon, Executive Director WARDC and KEWORDE respectively, among other signatories, a six month plan of action was also drawn-up and adopted for the CPA to engage their communities.

According to the communiqué, more women rather than men have suffered various forms of violence during past conflicts in the country, particularly in the Niger Delta region. It observed that if government has been more sensitive to the plight and needs of women they would not have been the greatest victims of violence in peace and conflict times. Though women have been active in their communities, cultural and social circumstances have prevented them from defending their rights. Society is insensitive to the plight of women and the need for them to enjoy their rights as human beings, she added.

ERADICATE SOCIAL PREJUDICES AGAINST WOMEN ²

A Senator from the Republic of Ireland, Mrs. Mary Henry has said that for women to play their rightful role in national development, the social prejudices against them and the girl child must be eradicated. Henry spoke on Tuesday February 21^st 2006, at the end of the Third Edo Women National Conference at the Oba Akenzua Cultural Centre, Benin City. The conference initiated by the wife of the Edo State Governor, Mrs. Eki Igbinedion, had as its theme “Women: Strength of the Nation”. Henry who delivered a special paper entitled, “Women: Your Health is your Strength, said cultural practices like female circumcision, early marriage and male-child preference were not only doing the female gender a grave danger, but were also endangering the entire society. She added, ‘efforts must be made to check violence against women, especially in the homes. Since women played a vital role in the procreation process,’ the senator said that proper care and education of women and girls would reduce drastically domestic violence against women, which she said was quite high in the country.

FORUM LISTS CAUSES OF JUVENILE PROSTITUTION ³

Stakeholders in the safety and security sector agreed at a forum on Wednesday the 9^th of February 2006 in Lagos that juvenile prostitution was capable of ruining a generation and that one of the major causes was early rape on the girl-child.

Other causes of juvenile prostitution identified at the forum included the preference of young and new girlfriends by boys and men, poverty, widespread unemployment, break up in family system, among others. The interactive forum was organised by the CLEEN Foundation, a non-governmental organization in Lagos.

Mrs. Bridget Osakwe of Project Alert on Violence Against Women delivered the main paper on juvenile prostitution. She said the female child prostitution had become the most prominent form of the social malady.

She noted that adult females could lured be into prostitution, but young girls were usually thrust into it probably because of poor background which could even allow their parents to encourage them into the business.

UN BODY INDICTS NIGERIA FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES ⁴

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extra-judicial summary and Arbitrary Executions, Mr. Phillip Alston, has indicted the Nigerian Government for human rights violations in the country. Besides, the Federal Government was urged to immediately respond in a positive way to the concerns raised by the UN expert’s report and remedy the ugly situation.

The special rapporteur’s indictment is contained in a 38-page report entitled. ‘Civil and political rights, including the question of disappearances and summary executions’ just released by the UN body.

The report was the outcome of an official fact-finding visit to the country between June 27 and July 8, 2005. It was also based on visits and extensive interviews undertaken in four states and Abuja. The report highlighted the human rights abuses, including extra judicial executions in the country and the reluctance of the Federal Government to stop these abuses and bring perpetrators to book.

It noted that the country’s domestic system for investigating the Nigeria Police’s misconduct (including extra-judicial killings) was often a charade.

Commenting on the Federal Government’s efforts to nip the situation in the bud, the report said, ‘In spite of the efforts made by the Government of Nigeria to combat corruption and consolidate the restoration of democracy, there remains serious problems in relation to extra-judicial executions. President Olusegun Obasanjo recently acknowledged these and this report identifies measures required to improve the situation.

The problems are illustrated by four cases studies – Abuja six killings in June 2005, the extra-judicial execution in police custody of alleged armed robbers in Enugu in January 2005; the killing by security forces of an innocent bystander who witnessed their conduct during communal violence in Kano in May 2004; and the death penalty by stoning under Sharia Law for private sexual acts such as adultery and homosexuality’.

The report recommended the abolition of checkpoints, (which constitute veritable points of human rights abuses) the enhancement of police pay and conditions of service, expansion of community policing and the administrative regulation of vigilance activities to redress the situation

It further noted that the Police Service Commission, which exercises constitutional powers over the appointment, discipline and dismissal of policemen, had largely been ineffective and unable to restrain police abuses.

The country’s failure to reform key elements of the justice system was clearly identified as a critical factor that accounted for continuation of human rights abuses.

The report also said that, the problem of extra-judicial executions in Nigeria is closely linked to the remarkable inadequacies of almost all levels of the Nigerian criminal justice system.

PART 2- TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS

DOCTOR, THREE OTHERS ARRESTED FOR SELLING BABY ⁶

A medical doctor and three members of staff of his clinic have been arrested for allegedly tricking a teenage mother to sell her new born baby.

Punch correspondent learnt that the incident which occurred in Ogidi, Idemili-North Local Government Area of Anambra State on Saturday January the 14^th 2006, had again brought the town into focus. Early last year, a pastor was found dead in the house of a widow in the same town after he reportedly passed the night there. In the latest incident, the teenage mother Alice who was unmarried, was said to have had a successful delivery but was confused as to what to do with the baby. But the doctor, allegedly talked her into the idea of selling the baby to some persons in far away Abakaliki in Ebonyi State.

The baby was said to have been sold to the buyers at the price of N450,000 the matter however, became public knowledge when the father of the girl Jacob, got wind of the transaction and promptly made a report at the Ogidi police station. The doctor, along with three of his workers, was said to have been immediately arrested. They later admitted to interrogators that the baby was sold in Abakaliki.

The clinic was also said to have been shut following the incident. The police later traced the baby to an address volunteered by the doctor and recovered the child but it could not be established on Sunday whether the suspected buyers were also arrested.

POLICE RESCUE 15 CHILDREN FROM SUSPECTED TRAFFICKERS ⁷

The police in Lagos on Friday the 13^th of January 2006, rescued 14 girls and a boy suspected to be victims of child trafficking from a building on Ijeh Road, Isolo. The children whose ages range between 12 and 15 years were trafficked into Lagos from the Republic of Benin by two suspects currently in police net.

Punch correspondent learnt that neighbours who noticed the children’s presence inside the building alerted policemen at Isolo. A team of policemen deployed in the scene arrested two Beninose said to have masterminded the illicit business. They are Sunday Asoba and Dauo Oshe. The children said that they were transported into the Nigeria from Benin with the consent of their parents. While wondering why the police should arrest them, the children said they were in the country to work. Efforts to speak with the suspects were, however, unsuccessful as at press time. The Police Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Command, Mr. Olubode Ojajuni, said that the command was concerned that such a number of children could be kept in a building when it was not a school.

HUMAN COLLATERAL, WOMEN DEPOSITS DAUGHER AS GUARANTEE FOR A N10, 000 LOAN ⁸

There was a mid drama last week Tuesday the 31^st of January 2006 at Ikare-Akoko in Akoko North-East of Ondo State, when a woman, identified as Bimpe Ibrahim, abandoned her one and half years old daughter to another woman she owes N10,000($78). Bimpe a petty trader was said to have borrowed N10,000 from Mrs. Hadjat Ismail in June 2005 to boost her business, but she was unable to pay back the loan after the expiration of the two months agreed upon.

It was learnt that her creditor mounted pressure on her to pay the money or find something worth N10,000 to give her in place of the money. The debtor was said to have sent people to Mrs. Ismail to beg for more time, but the later were reported to have been hell bent on getting her money back or an item worth the value of the money.

Bimpe, a mother of two, decided to do something on the fateful day, she took her daughter, Yemisi, to the woman as collateral for the debt. She was said to have wept profusely before leaving for an unknown destination. The creditor had rejected her collateral.

According to Mrs. Ismail, people thought the woman went back to her apartment, but to their utmost surprise, Mama Yemisi had packed all her belongings out of the room. She stated that efforts were going on by her neighbours and herself to trace the woman to her town Ikirun, Osun State.

Meanwhile, Yemisi is in custody of Mrs. Ismail, who sees the girls as an extra burden. ‘She is an extra burden because I have seven children already. I still find it difficult to feed them. With her now, they are eight’ she lamented.

COURT CONVICTS WOMAN FOR HUMAN TRAFFICKING ⁹

Published in Punch of Friday, February 17, 2006

A 30-year-old mother of two, Mrs. Affiong Okon, has been sentenced to two years imprisonment with hard labour for human trafficking. A statement issued by the Benin Zonal Office of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and other Related Matters(NAPTIP) on Wednesday the 15^th of February 2006, said Okon was found guilty of 3 of the 10 charges brought against her at an Onitsha High Court. In convicting the woman, the presiding judge, Justice Peter Umeadi, said he had to be lenient with the convict after she pleaded guilty to the charges.

The Judge also considered the fact that the convict was a young mother. Okon who hails from Ikpe Oron in Akwa Ibom state, was charged with using and exploiting seven children aged between 3 and 12 years for forced labour, and with depriving the children of their personal liberty. She was also charged with fraudulently taking away from lawful custody children under the age of 18 years, deceitful inducement and human trafficking.

NPTIP said Okon was arrested in November 2005 with the children at Onitsha, Anambra State while using the children to solicit for alms. Her illegal activities were revealed when she poured hot water on the lower limbs of one of the victims. The hot water peeled off the victim’s skin, an act she exploited to enhance her appeal for alms. The accused was said to be making between N1,000 and N9,000 on a daily basis from alms.

WRW: I am becoming afraid that there are a lot of sick minds in Nigeria. A mother pouring hot water on a child, in order to raise money!?!

8 STOLEN KIDS RESCUED ¹⁰

Eight stolen children hidden in a Red Golf car have been rescued by vigilant security men inside the Ojo campus of the Lagos State University (LASU).

Four of the children, were kept in the boot of the car marked AH 980 FGE and four others, including a year-old baby hidden inside the car were rescued by private guards known as Campus Marshal at LASU. Daily Sun investigations showed that the children were drugged and police have identified the 32-year-old man accused of kidnapping them as Patrick Odafe Odara. Odara was said to have taken the children from the Ilufeare of Ojo and was heading towards Igando area where he hoped to meet prospective buyers. It was gathered that Odara avoided the Ojo Badagry Road and diverted to LASU in a bid to link to Igando road to avoid possible arrest by the police. A security officer at LASU told Daily Sun that Odara ran out of luck when he sped off the first gate without collecting a tag, adding that this crated suspicions and the security men at the first gate alerted other security men at the second gate. He said when Odara came to the gate, I stopped him and I saw four children in the car. I requested to know where he was taking them, and he answered that he was taking them a photographer but my instinct directed me to tell him to open his boot. He refused. He started pleading with me that nothing was in his boot. But I insisted that he must open it. I contacted other people around and they forced him to open the boot. Lo and behold four other children were sweating profusely looking very weak. Another eye witness, Taye Akeju told daily sun that when the man was arrested, a mob wanted to lynch him but good spirited students refused, so that the truth could finally be ascertained. He said the security men alerted the police at Ojo division and soldiers later showed up but the students refused to hand over the suspect. So the Student Union Government brought out the suspected kidnapper with the children six girls and two boys and took them to the station. Akeju added that a man, Francis Aigbodon claimed that two of the kids were his, but the students refused to give the children to him until after police investigations. One of the female victims who spoke with Daily sun said uncle gave us biscuit and after eating the biscuit, we didn’t know what happened until now. Please where are we, are we dead? Another two-year-old victim who gave her name as Blessing was busy crying, requesting for her mother. At Ojo police station, a senior officer said the children and suspect have been handed over to the State Criminal Investigation Department as the Student Union Government led by the President, identified simply as Omisore warned that they would monitor the case to a logical conclusion.

COUPLE FLEEING WITH 12 KIDS ARRESTED ¹¹

Immigration authorities in Nigeria arrested a couple in a northern border town as they attempted to smuggle out twelve children to Europe. Mr. Hassan Suleman Kangiwa, the Comptroller of Immigration in Katsina State, told the Agence France Press that Felix Omorka, 45, and his wife were arrested on Monday 9^th of May 2006, close to Nigeria’s border with Niger Republic, in company of twelve children, including five girls, aged between 11 and 14 years.

Omorka, who claimed to be an auto mechanic based in Libya, and his companions were travelling in two buses when they were arrested. Seventeen Nigerian passports, including those belonging to the couple and the children, were found with them. Kanigwa added, ‘from our interrogation of this man and the children, it was evident that the final destination of the group was Spain and Italy. We are concerned with the rate of exporting of young and innocent Nigerians outside the country for manual labour and prostitution. From what we have observed, these children were meant for these two purposes.

Trafficking of Nigerian teenagers to Europe, especially girls, for manual labour and prostitution has been on the increase in recent years and government efforts to curb it have included a law prohibiting the trafficking of persons and several prosecutions of offenders in court.

SPANISH POLICE RESCUE HOSTAGE BOY – SPAIN HAS CRACKED A NUMBER OF GROUPS SMUGGLING NIGERIAN WOMEN ¹²

Two Nigerian women have been arrested in Spain, accused of stealing a child and forcing his mother into prostitution, in order to pay their ransom. The mother, also Nigerian claims her son was snatched from her shortly after he was born four years ago.

She said the women demanded 45,000 euros (£31,000) for his return and threatened her with voodoo. The boy was kept hidden from neighbours in a Madrid flat until police tracked him down and rescued him last week. The kidnap and blackmail came to light when the mother, who has since given up prostitution, went to the police. She said the women had trafficked her into Spain from Nigeria illegally, which was why she owed them money. Despite being the only black child in the block of flats, hardly any of his neighbours had seen him there, the police stated. After they took her son, she said she worked as a prostitute in different clubs around Spain to pay off the debt. Officers investigating the case confirmed that the woman had a baby in 2002 and finally tracked down the suspects – identified only as Becky F, age 28 and Faith N, age 24.

The women were known to live in a flat with an 18 month old girl and another young Nigerian woman. Officers could not confirm the presence of a young boy until a neighbour reported hearing cries from the flat that differed from the little girl’s. The surveillance teams got the breakthrough they needed when a boy appeared on the balcony. Police raided the flat and found the boy, his mother’s passport and other items used in voodoo rituals, which the suspects used ‘to terrorise the mother’. Police said the boy was healthy, although he showed signs of delayed development and had barely learned to talk. He has not been to school and has not been registered at any official institutions, such as health centres.

Despite being the only black child in the block of flats, hardly any of his neighbours had seen him there or in the local children’s playgrounds, the police said. They said his captors had probably kept him hidden, alone in the flat all day. He has now been taken into the care of social services.

In the past few years, Spanish Police have broken up a number of illegal immigration networks involving Nigerian women being brought to Spain to work as prostitutes. In March, six people were arrested in Valencia, accused of running such an enterprise. Voodoo has often been found to be a way of threatening the women but reports say kidnapping their children is less frequent.

NAPTIP RESCUES 46 HUMAN TRAFFIC VICTIMS ¹³

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and Other Related Matters(NAPTIP), Uyo Zone has rescued forty six victims of human trafficking from different parts of the country.

The head of the agency in the zone, Ms. Elizabeth Ekaette, told newsmen in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital on Tuesday 20^th of June 2006 that some of them were into prostitution before their rescue. She said the children were hired away by suspected human traffickers under the pretence of looking for domestic servants. According to her, while victims are used for prostitution, the proceeds from the act go to their matrons.

Parents of the victims are poor and that is why they are vulnerable to the antics of human traffickers, she stressed. Describing some of the 46 victims as illiterates, Ekaette noted that they had special talents. She called on the government, individuals and corporate organisations to help rehabilitate them.

The NAPTIP boss stated that the rehabilitation would come in the form of skill acquisition, geared towards giving them a sense of belonging. Explaining that there are ten cases of human trafficking in the court, Ekaette said nine suspects were being investigated by the agency. She urged members of the public to be mindful of human traffickers around them and report any suspect to the agency or the police.

One of the victims said she was taken away from Akwa Ibom by her aunt to Lagos. She stated that she served as a house help for two weeks before she was later lured into prostitution by her aunt.

WOTCLEF HIGHLIGHTS EVILS OF WOMEN TRAFFICKING ¹⁴

The Rivers State Coordinator of Women Trafficking, Child Labour Eradication Foundation(WOTCLEF), Mr. Darlington Amadi, has said that the war against HIV/AIDs will be futile unless women trafficking is stopped. Amadi spoke at a press briefing organised by the WOTCLEF/ National Youth Service Corps in Port Harcourt on Wednesday July 19^th 2006.He said that the practice of women trafficking had tarnished the image of the country and the war against it should be the responsibility of every Nigerian. He urged parents to desist from encouraging their children to engage in prostitution or other forms of modern slavery.

The President of WOTCLEF/NYSC Community Development Service, Mr. Shedrach Amadi said that the corps member would do all within their power to sensitize residents of the state on the negative effects of child labour and women trafficking. An NYSC official in charge of the group Mr. Benjamin Esan commended their efforts in waging war against the despicable act despite their meagre income. The secretary, Miss Tolulope Adeyemo, urged members of the public to report cases of women trafficking to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons or other security agencies.

She noted that NAPTIP could only act based on information it got from the members of the public.

The secretary urged the Federal and various State Governments to ensure the eradication of poverty so as to discourage people from rushing out to seek greener pastures in other countries.‘ It is true that we all desire and search for greener pastures but in whatever you do always know that a slave in a foreign land is worse than a freeman struggling for survival in his own land’, Adeyemo said. She also commended the Global Opportunity Fund and the British High Commission for funding the NYSC vanguards of WOTCLEF all over the nation. Adeyemo called on corporate bodies, religious organisations and other interested individuals to support the group to enable it carry out its activities.

FIGHTING HUMAN TRAFFICKING IS A BIG TASK ¹⁵

The Governor of Bayelsa State, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, has said that the fight against human trafficking and child labour will require more than political will, well-meaning strategies, programmes and policies to win.

He also said that since the battle could not be won without an effective partnership on all fronts, the government must vote additional resources and make conscious efforts to enable the younger generation escape poverty and malnutrition.

Jonathan spoke while declaring open a two day South-South zonal workshop on Anti-Human trafficking and Child Labour at the Yenagoa Sports Complex on Monday July thr 17^th 2006. The workshop was organised by the Office of the Special Assistant to the President on Human Trafficking and Child Labour headed by Mrs. Dayo Akinmoyo in collaboration with the Bayelsa State Government.

The Governor further stated that the unpalatable realities of the social inequalities and abuses suffered by children must be confronted to either eliminate or reduced them to the barest minimum.

NSDC ARRESTS SUSPECTED HUMAN TRAFFICKERS ¹⁶

The National Security and Civil Defence, Kwara State Command, on Tuesday the 25^th of July 2006, said it had apprehended five suspected human traffickers in the state.

Disclosing this to newsmen at a press conference in Ilorin, the Acting Commandant of the NSCDC, Mr. Philip Auyba, said the suspects were arrested on Monday at the Taiwo Isale area of Ilorin by a team led by an Assistant Inspector, Mr. Iyiola Okpaleke, who disguised as a buyer. He said the suspects, whose arrest was made possible following a tip off by a good Samaritan, hailed from Benue State and were with two girls whose ages ranged between 11 and 14 during the arrest.

Ayuba alleged that a man now at large, tricked the girls to Ilorin on the pretence that they would be enrolled in schools. He said that during interrogation, the suspects had allegedly confessed to committing the crime. He also quoted the suspects as saying that that was not the first time they would be engaging in such act.He said one of them in fact confessed that a lady was brought from Lagos sometimes ago and had been sold for N4,500(about $40).He said the suspects had been handed over to the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of the State Police Command for further investigations.

POLICE ARREST WOMAN FOR ATTEMPTING TO SELL BABY ¹⁷

The Police in Kano have arrested a middle aged woman (names withheld) for attempting to sell a six year old girl for N20,000.The Punch correspondent gathered that the woman had approached a trader at the Kware Textile Market with a proposal to sell the girl.

The trader played along with her, haggling over the price, until they both arrived at N20,000. Unknown to the suspect, the trader had contacted his colleagues and the police and she was arrested by police detectives when she brought the victim.

The Police Public Relation’s Officer, Baba Mohammed, a Deputy Superintendent of Police confirmed the incident. Mohammed explained that the suspect was unable to explain her relationship with the victim. He also said the police had been able to trace the parents of the victims who denied any relationship with the suspect.

V ICTIM OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING FIGHTS FOR FREEDOM ¹⁸

A 67 year old Nigerian victim of human trafficking is fighting for her freedom and unpaid wages in the United States of America.

Investigations by Punch correspondent revealed that the woman, Mrs. Martina Okeke was allegedly smuggled into New York in 1988 by an immigrant trafficker from Nigeria.

Mrs. Martina Okeke who was 51 years old at the time, hails from Arondizuogu in Imo State Nigeria. She reportedly fell for the trafficker’s bait of promises of a better life, which never materialised. The Punch correspondent gathered that she had worked as a housemaid for 12 years (1988 to 2000) and raised the five children of her trafficker and another three foster children without pay.

Her plight was said to have made the list of one of the four case studies of a US based anti-trafficking organisation, Africans in America Foundation, early this year.

Investigations revealed that the organisation, which has its Nigerian office in Nnobi, Idemili-South Local Government Area of Anambra State, had also sought for the assistance of two law firms to handle Ego’s case on humanitarian grounds. The victim is, in addition to the indignity she suffered, also alleged to be neglected medically as her trafficker only takes her to clinics run by doctors who know her situation or public health centres with friends of the trafficker for cover up. It was further learnt that the victim, who has no legal immigration status, is currently stranded in the US as her trafficker had forced her away from the house in 2000.

Her offence according to investigations, was that she dared to ask for freedom and her accumulated wages. The Director of AIAF Mr. Bonaventure Ezekwenna, confirmed Ego’s plight ‘It is a pathetic case, especially considering her age. The woman ran away from the trafficker and took shelter in a small church in the area run by a generous Nigerian immigrant pastor. It was this same pastor who gave her accommodation for three months and later arranged another Nigerian family for her where she is now being paid $100 a month.

Her job is to take care of the couple’s three children, cook and clean the house’, Ezekwenna told Punch correspondent on the telephone.

WRW: Finally help came for the victim when the United States Government intervened in her case in November 2006 as a result of the awareness created by AIAF.

US ASSISTS 67-YEAR-OLD NIGERIAN WIDOW ¹⁹

The US government has come to the aid of a 67-year-old Nigerian widow trafficked into New York to work as a baby-sitter without pay for 12 years, according to Empowered Newswire.

Mrs. Martina Okeke was brought to the US by a wealthy Nigerian politician in 1988 and she is one of the several Nigerian imported baby sisters tricked to the US on false promises of paying assignments and lure of living in America.

The nature of the American society differs from Nigeria where a couple with underaged children can take their wards to family relatives for free while they go to work and other outings. In the US, people pay professional caregivers substantial sums of money to look after children while their parents work.

Okeke was lured to the US with the promise of a $300 per month salary, which is even below the minimum wage. Considering that such people are victims of international trafficking, the US government provides for a T-visa to allow those with proven cases stay in the US legally.

The T-visa is a special visa created by the United States Congress for individuals determined, after diligent and thorough investigation to be victims of trafficking in persons. But since the law known as victim of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act was passed in 2001, only way few individuals have been able to meet the requirements.

According to a statement issued by Africans in America, a human rights group based in New York the politician took the uneducated widow to the United States Embassy in Nigeria on two occasions until she was eventually granted a visa.

However on arrival in New York City, Okeke was made to baby-sit eight children, 24 hours a day, cleaned inside and outside of a 4 bedroom mansion, cooked and cleaned for the family for 12 consecutive years and was not paid at all. But in July, 2005, Okeke got to the office of Africans in America.

After listening to her predicament, the organisation accepted her case and began high-level advocacy on her behalf resulting in this T-visa granted by the US Department of Homeland Security.

ENVOY VOWS TO TACKLE CHILD TRAFFICKING ²⁰

The French Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Yvres Gaudell, restated the commitment of the French Government to curbing trafficking in persons in Nigeria. Gaudell, who spoke during a courtesy visit to the Niger State Governor, Alhaji Abdulkhadir Kure, at Government House Minna on Wednesday the 2^nd of August 2006, appealed for support from Nigerians in the fight against human trafficking. He said that the Embassy had been collaborating with the National Agency Prohibiting Trafficking in Persons in assisting victims of child trafficking. The ambassador expressed joy that about 36 Lagos-bound children intercepted at Mokwa Jebba Road, had been trained in various skills.The 36 children, who were in the custody of a woman simply identified as Hajia Fati, were found in a Lagos bound luggage truck.

AKWA IBOM LEADS IN HUMAN TRAFFICKING – NAPTIP ²¹

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and other Related Matters (NAPTIP) had declared Akwa Ibom as the leading state in human trafficking and child labour in the country.NAPTIP said that the current record placed the state ahead of Edo. Presenting a paper at a sensitisation workshop on human trafficking in Uyo on Tuesday the 8^th of August 2006, the Executive Secretary of the agency, Mrs. Carol Ndaguba, explained that, out of the 104 victims rescued by NAPTIP, Uyo Zonal Office in the last quarter, 53 were from Akwa Ibom State. She said it is sad to state that most of the Akwa Ibom girls rescued were used for prostitution in Lagos a that most of the brothels in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Sokoto and Calabar are habited by young girls from Akwa Ibom State. “Those rescued are predominantly from Oron, Mbo, Eket, Esit Eket, Ibesikpo and Uyo. She explained that the type of human trafficking in the state included internal trafficking for sexual exploitation, child trafficking for labour exploitation and child abuse. Describing the state as a source and transit for human trafficking and child labour, Ndaguba stated that victims of the crime were usually young girls of school age, between the ages of 4 and 17 years.

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