CHILD TRAFFICKING IN NIGERIA: ASSESSING THE ROLE OF EDUCATION AND NATIONAL AGENCY FOR THE PROTECTION OF TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS (NAPTIP)

Nneka O. ANAUKWU^[1]

&

Stella I. ORJI^[2]

Abstract: Nigeria has a history of human cum child trafficking. The prevalent sexual trade/ exploitations, child labour, street hawking of Nigerians home and abroad among others; are consequences of this menace. Thus, the paper sought to ascertain the role of the National Agency for the Protection of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) as a tool and the role of education in curbing the increased rate of child trafficking in Nigeria. The paper is exploratory; relied on secondary materials and built around Structural Functionalism theory. It examined the existing practices employed by the agency in order to ascertain its effectiveness in combating the said phenomenon. In doing so, it revealed that Nigeria has undertaken several mechanisms to address human/child trafficking problem within her borders. Nevertheless, it is unlikely that NAPTIP and other mechanisms against human trafficking will be effective without the emphasis on the roles of education. For this reason, the paper recommended, the need for the Nigerian government to ensure that NAPTIP receives sufficient funding for its fights against human trafficking and as well, educational awareness and national campaigns against the menace. More so, there is need to strengthen the borders between Nigeria and her neighbours. In addition, there is need to address the root causes of human trafficking such as the issues of poverty, inequality and conflicts.

Keywords: Child trafficking; Education; Forced Labour; Human Trafficking; NAPTIP

[1]Dr. Anaukwu is a Lecturer II of the Department of Political Science, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria.

[2] Dr. Orji is a Lecturer II of the Department of Political Science, Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Enugu, Nigeria.