The United States has faulted Nigeria over alleged official complicity in human trafficking, weak victim protection and the failure to prosecute government officials implicated in trafficking crimes, while listing the country among 14 nations accused of recruiting or using child soldiers.
The allegations are contained in the 2026 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report released by the US Department of State, covering the period from April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026.
Despite the criticisms, the report retained Nigeria on Tier 2, a classification for countries whose governments do not fully meet the minimum standards for eliminating human trafficking but are making significant efforts to comply.
Nigeria was also included on the Child Soldiers Prevention Act (CSPA) list alongside Afghanistan, Myanmar, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Iran, Russia, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Venezuela and Yemen.
The State Department said the listing could trigger restrictions from October 1, 2026, on international military education and training, foreign military financing, excess defence articles, peacekeeping operations and licences for direct commercial sales of military equipment, unless a presidential waiver applies.
The report, however, acknowledged that the Nigerian government recorded progress in investigating, prosecuting and convicting suspected traffickers compared with the previous reporting period.
US faults Nigeria over official complicity
The report identified corruption and alleged official involvement in trafficking-related crimes as major concerns, accusing the government of failing to provide evidence of investigations or prosecutions involving public officials suspected of complicity.
“The government did not report any investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of government employees allegedly complicit in trafficking crimes or provide details or other actions taken against complicit officials from previous years,” the report stated.
It also accused authorities of coercing some victims of forced marriage, including trafficking survivors, to return to their Boko Haram husbands at demobilisation centres in Borno State.
The US government further criticised Nigeria's handling of trafficking victims, citing a sharp decline in the number of people receiving assistance.
According to the report, 675 trafficking victims received government assistance in 2025, compared with 2,058 in the previous year. It added that services remained inadequate, particularly for male victims, with only one dedicated non-governmental organisation shelter available for adult male survivors during the reporting period.
The report also faulted the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) over restrictions on residents' freedom of movement in its shelters.
It said the government required some victims to cooperate with law enforcement proceedings to access certain protection services and failed to provide assistance to adult victims who declined shelter accommodation, potentially increasing their vulnerability to further exploitation.
The report further noted that Nigeria lacked a formal policy to prevent trafficking victims from being returned to countries where they could face hardship or retaliation.
It added that, unlike the previous reporting period, the government did not report transferring any children associated with non-state armed groups.
US raises alarm over child soldier recruitment
On child soldiers, the report accused Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) of continuing to recruit, abduct and exploit children, including through force, fraud and coercion.
According to the document, children as young as 12 were allegedly used as cooks, domestic workers, spies, porters, messengers, bodyguards, checkpoint guards, armed combatants and suicide bombers.
The report's definition of a child soldier includes anyone under 18 who directly participates in hostilities, children under 15 who are voluntarily recruited, and those under 18 recruited by armed groups distinct from the state for roles including combat, support duties and sexual exploitation.
The CSPA listing means Nigeria could face restrictions on certain categories of US military assistance, subject to applicable waivers and other legal provisions.
Labour recruitment practices under scrutiny
The US report also raised concerns about Nigeria's labour protection framework, alleging that the government had failed to prohibit worker-paid recruitment fees and did not report holding labour recruiters civilly or criminally liable for fraudulent recruitment practices.
It further criticised the absence of specialised training on child labour and human trafficking for labour inspectors, as well as the failure to provide anti-trafficking training to Nigerian diplomatic personnel.
The report also highlighted concerns about foreign criminal networks allegedly recruiting people for work in Nigeria before confining them in leased properties and forcing them to participate in organised online scams.
It cited reports that Nigeria's Ministry of Education helped promote Russia's Alabuga Start programme despite warning signs. The report also alleged that Russian authorities fraudulently recruited Nigerians to fight in the Russia-Ukraine war.
Additionally, it raised concerns that North Korean nationals working in Nigeria might be subjected to exploitative conditions indicative of forced labour, while some Chinese nationals could be experiencing government-imposed forced labour.
Baby factories, forced labour and sex trafficking
The report described so-called “baby factories” as a widespread criminal problem in Nigeria, particularly in the southern part of the country.
According to the document, traffickers operate such facilities under the guise of orphanages, maternity homes and religious centres, where women are allegedly held against their will, sexually assaulted and forced to become pregnant and deliver children for sale.
It said government agencies and non-governmental organisations had identified the practice as a significant criminal industry.
The report also identified several sectors in which children and adults were allegedly exploited, including domestic work, begging, street vending, textile manufacturing, agriculture, granite quarries and artisanal mining.
Traffickers were also reported to exploit adults and children in forced labour on cocoa farms.
The document further alleged that some corrupt Quranic school teachers exploited boys from rural communities through forced begging and seasonal agricultural work.
In some states, it added, families reportedly sold women and girls into forced marriages to older men to settle family debts, a practice described as “money marriages”.
Foreign criminal networks and exploitation concerns
The report warned that highly organised foreign criminal syndicates were fraudulently recruiting foreign nationals for jobs in Nigeria, confining them in rented properties and forcing them to carry out online scams.
It also highlighted concerns over the recruitment of Nigerians into foreign conflicts and possible forced labour involving foreign nationals working in Nigeria, underscoring the transnational nature of trafficking and exploitation.
Nigeria records rise in investigations and convictions
Despite the extensive criticisms, the report acknowledged improvements in Nigeria's anti-trafficking enforcement efforts.
It said the government investigated 1,341 trafficking cases involving 1,367 suspects in 2025, compared with 744 investigations in 2024.
The authorities also prosecuted 94 suspects and secured 97 convictions during the year, up from 71 prosecutions and 49 convictions in 2024.
According to the report, the government sentenced most convicted traffickers to at least one year in prison and increased funding for victim assistance and prevention programmes.
Funding for victim services rose to N233 million, approximately $161,000, in 2025, from N128 million in the preceding year.
Similarly, allocations for trafficking prevention increased to N245 million, approximately $169,000, from N58.8 million in 2024.
The government also established a police cybercrime unit to combat online scam operations and collaborated with foreign governments and INTERPOL on investigations in West Africa and Southeast Asia.
The report said Nigerian authorities identified 2,004 trafficking victims and coordinated the repatriation of 428 Nigerians exploited abroad.
It added that the government secured restitution for 14 victims as part of criminal sentences and continued implementing the 2022–2026 National Action Plan against human trafficking.
Other measures included operating an anti-trafficking hotline, conducting public awareness campaigns and maintaining anti-trafficking task forces in 23 states.
The report's findings therefore present a mixed picture: increased investigations, prosecutions and convictions alongside continuing concerns about official accountability, victim protection, labour exploitation and the recruitment of children by armed groups.
