US Trafficking Report Targets Official Complicity in Nigeria
According to reports by Vanguard News, the United States government has indicted Nigeria for failing to meet minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, pointing to corruption, official complicity, and a failure to prosecute complicit officials. The findings form part of the 2026 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, which covers the period from April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026.
The report retained Nigeria on Tier 2—a designation for countries whose governments do not fully meet the Trafficking Victims Protection Act minimum standards but are considered to be making significant efforts to meet them. However, Nigeria was also placed on the Child Soldiers Prevention Act (CSPA) list alongside 13 other nations, including Afghanistan, Burma, Russia, Somalia, and Sudan.
Military Restrictions and Official Concerns
The U.S. Department of State indicated that CSPA restrictions would apply to Nigeria regarding international military education and training, foreign military financing, excess defense articles, peacekeeping operations, and commercial sales licenses for military equipment, barring a presidential waiver after October 1, 2026.
The U.S. report emphasized that corruption and official complicity remain major hurdles. Investigators stated that the Nigerian government did not report any investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of government employees allegedly complicit in trafficking crimes. Furthermore, the report alleged that authorities coerced victims of forced marriage, including trafficking victims, to return to their Boko Haram husbands in Borno State demobilization centers.
Baby Factories, Forced Labor, and Exploitation Trends
The report highlighted the ongoing operation of illicit ‘baby factories’ often disguised as orphanages, maternity homes, or religious centers. In these locations, traffickers reportedly hold women against their will, subject them to rape, force them to carry and deliver children, and subsequently sell the infants. This criminal industry is described as most prevalent in the southern part of the country.
Other forms of exploitation noted include child labor in granite quarries, artisanal mines, domestic work, begging, and agriculture, alongside foreign criminal syndicates forcing recruits into online scams. The report also pointed to Russian authorities recruiting Nigerians to fight in the Russia-Ukraine war, noting that Nigeria’s Ministry of Education helped promote Russia’s Alabuga Start program despite red flags.
Recognized Government Efforts and Progress
Despite the severe indictments, the U.S. report acknowledged several strides made by Nigerian authorities. In 2025, the government investigated 1,341 trafficking cases involving 1,367 suspects, prosecuted 94 suspects, and convicted 97 traffickers—an increase from the previous year’s figures of 744 investigations, 71 prosecutions, and 49 convictions.
Authorities also increased funding for victim services, allocating N233 million ($161,000) in 2025, up from N128 million previously, while prevention funding rose to N245 million ($169,000). The government also established a cybercrime unit within the police force and cooperated with international partners to address transnational trafficking networks.