By Adegboyega Adeleye
The wife of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Network Against Child Trafficking, Abuse and Labour, Chief Titi Atiku Abubakar, has decried human trafficking, saying Nigerian girls going abroad are becoming a “nuisance” in their host countries.
She spoke on Thursday in Abuja at the presentation of NACTAL’s review of the 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report released by the United States Department of State. Explaining why international partners supported Nigeria’s anti-trafficking work, she said they wanted Nigerian girls to remain in the country.
“Our girls are becoming nuisance in overseas countries. So that is why these partners are helping us,” Abubakar said.
She added that the partners were supporting both Nigeria’s anti-trafficking efforts and the girls themselves.
“They are supporting us, they are supporting the girls. They want them to stay at home and do whatever they want to do in their homes, in their country,” she said.
Abubakar, who is also the founder of the Women Trafficking and Child Labour Eradication Foundation (WOTCLEF), further urged civil society organisations to work together, saying NACTAL could not tackle trafficking, abuse and child labour without wider participation. She described the groups working with the network as frontline actors in the fight.
“NACTAL has about 286 foot soldiers, those are the CSOs that are working with NACTAL because NACTAL alone cannot do it. So we must bring everybody on board to help in this fight,” she said.
The immediate past NACTAL president and regional representative of the West African Coalition Against Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants, Abdulganiu Abubakar, said the network’s review found that the contributions of the Nigerian government, development partners and civil society organisations were underrepresented in the US report.
He said NACTAL commissioned the review after the report’s release to examine its assessment of Nigeria’s efforts, particularly in victim protection, rehabilitation and shelter provision. Development partners, he said, had supported policy development, assisted victims and helped refurbish shelters run by civil society organisations and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons.
Abubakar said about 10 NAPTIP shelters had received refurbishment support, but the interventions were not adequately reflected in the US report. He added that the work of more than 289 NACTAL member organisations and Nigeria’s role in regional anti-trafficking initiatives deserved greater recognition.
However, he acknowledged that Nigeria continued to face challenges in implementing anti-trafficking policies, including inadequate funding, weak political will and shortcomings in prosecuting cases, particularly high-profile ones.
“The government of Nigeria needs to do a lot in terms of funding. The political will and commitment should improve,” he said, urging the Federal Government to increase funding for agencies responsible for tackling trafficking and create an enabling environment for civil society groups and development partners.
NACTAL President Osita Osemene said he planned to expand the network from about 286 civil society organisations to 500 within three months and at least 1,000 within a year. He said the expansion would be accompanied by capacity-building programmes to strengthen support for victims and vulnerable groups.
“The fight against human trafficking is a collective responsibility, and everybody must come together to ensure that this fight is won,” Osemene said.
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