Victims exploited in Nigeria

Between 2004 and 2022, the IOM registered 905 victims exploited in Nigeria.^[1] Around 62 per cent of these victims were registered between 2019 and 2021.

Among victims exploited in Nigeria, 81 per cent are female, and 19 per cent are male.^[2] Most victims are adults (84%), while 16 per cent are children. Victims are mostly aged between 21 and 26 years of age (40%). Overall, female victims tend to be younger than males.

Almost all victims exploited in Nigeria are Nigerians (99%), which means they are being exploited domestically and within their sub-region of origin.^[3]

The most common form of exploitation is forced labour (70%), followed by sexual exploitation (33%), and other types of exploitation, such as forced marriage, forced military, organ removal, and slavery and related practices (14%).^[4]

Domestic work is the most common sector of labour exploitation (80%), followed by hospitality (5%), construction (4%), and agriculture (2%). Sexually exploited victims are mostly forced into prostitution.

The main means of control include psychological, physical and sexual abuse (85%), restrictions of finance, movements, medical care and necessities (45%), threats and false promises (42% each).^[4] All victims were recruited by ‘others’, which includes a notable relationship with the recruiter that does not fit other categories like intimate partners, family or friends.

^[1] This country profile is based on the data collected by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in the process of providing assistance and protection services to victims of trafficking.

^[2] The IOM acknowledge diverse gender identities and expressions among trafficking victims. However, sex assigned at birth is used for this data analysis unless otherwise indicated. This is to ensure consistency with initial data collection forms, which lacked fields for diverse identities. Also, the disclosure of smaller subsets of victims with diverse gender identities increases data protection risks due to the potential identification of individual cases.

^[3] Interregional trafficking involves victims trafficked outside their region of origin, while intraregional trafficking occurs within their region of origin. For the list of regions and subregions, refer to the Global Synthetic Dataset Dictionary.

^[4] It is important to note that trafficked persons can be subjected to multiple types of exploitation and means of control, so percentages may not add up to 100.