This report is part of a series of two COI reports on Nigeria produced in 2021. The reports provide information relevant for international protection status determination for Nigerian applicants, and in particular for use in updating EASO's country guidance development on Nigeria.
This report is an update and expansion of the 2015 EASO COI report Nigeria, Sex Trafficking of women.
The first draft of this report was finalised on 1 March 2021. Any event taking place after this date is not included in this report.
The report is divided into four chapters. The first chapter is a general overview of trafficking in human beings within Nigeria, and includes the most occurring types of trafficking. It discusses the profiles of women, men and children as the most probable victims of trafficking.
The second chapter dives into the modus operandi of trafficking, including networks and roles of traffickers, the debt system and taking of oaths, and the organisation of travel to Europe.
The third chapter deals with the situation of returning victims of trafficking to Nigeria, the support possibilities and shelters, the attitude of relatives and organisations towards returnees. The risks of retrafficking and the factors influencing possible retrafficking are also discussed.
The final chapter treats the role of the state and state organisations in protecting victims of trafficking and prosecuting traffickers.
EASO acknowledges as the drafter of this report:
- The Netherlands, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Country of Origin (COI) unit.
The following departments and organisations have reviewed the report:
- Norway, Landinfo;
Switzerland, Federal Department of Justice and Police, State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), Division Analysis (Länderanalyse SEM).
The following external experts have reviewed the report:
Dr Corentin Cohen. Corentin Cohen is a researcher and has been Oxford/SciencesPo’s postdoctoral fellow in 2019-2020. He is a specialist of Nigeria and has researched on networks of sexual exploitation and Nigerian criminal actors in Europe since 2016;
- Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation (ACCORD).
This report is produced in line with the EASO COI Report Methodology (2019).
Policy
The policy implemented by the Commissioner General is based on a thorough analysis of accurate and up-to-date information on the general situation in the country of origin. This information is collated in a professional manner from various, objective sources, including the EASO, the UNHCR, relevant international human rights organisations, non-governmental organisations, professional literature and coverage in the media. When determining policy, the Commissioner General does not only examine the COI Focuses written by Cedoca and published on this website, as these deal with just one aspect of the general situation in the country of origin. The fact that a COI Focus could be out-of-date does not mean that the policy that is being implemented by the Commissioner General is no longer up-to-date.
When assessing an application for asylum, the Commissioner General not only considers the actual situation in the country of origin at the moment of decision-making, he also takes into account the individual situation and personal circumstances of the applicant for international protection. Every asylum application is examined individually. An applicant must comprehensively demonstrate that he has a well-founded fear of persecution or that there is a clear personal risk of serious harm. He cannot, therefore, simply refer back to the general conditions in his country, but must also present concrete, credible and personal facts.
There is no policy paper for this country available on the website.