In commemoration of the 2026 World Day Against Trafficking in Persons observed globally on July 30, the Juritrust Centre for Socio-Legal Research and Documentation convened a high-level virtual conversation focused on combating technology-facilitated exploitation. The online event, themed “A Conversation on Combatting Online Human Trafficking,” drew from a pool of 35 registered participants comprising legal practitioners, civil society leaders, researchers, and criminal justice stakeholders to address the evolving intersection of digital spaces and human exploitation. Moderated by Ifeanyi Ewuziem of the Juritrust Centre, the session opened with welcoming remarks before diving into comprehensive expert presentations and interactive dialogue.
The session featured robust contributions from prominent subject-matter experts who unpacked the multi-layered realities of cyber-enabled human trafficking. Chidiebere Pascal Ugochukwu, representing the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, delivered a comprehensive overview of Nigeria’s legal and institutional architecture. He cited international United Nations protocols, the Kigali Convention, the Trafficking in Persons Prohibition Enforcement and Administration Act of 2015, and the Cybercrimes Act, while highlighting that NAPTIP had successfully secured 54 convictions for trafficking cases within the year.
Building on this institutional perspective, Dorothy Njemanze, Executive Director of the Dorothy Njemanze Foundation and a survivor advocate, brought critical lived experiences to the forum. She emphasized how economic desperation, digital access gaps, and specific vulnerabilities among children and persons with disabilities are exploited by cyber syndicates, while addressing systemic challenges in accessing justice, including funding gaps, protection order hurdles, and the safety of frontline workers.
Furthermore, Akobella Joshua, a research fellow at the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, detailed the expanding typologies of digital exploitation, identifying cyber-enabled financial fraud commonly known as Yahoo Plus, labor trafficking, sextortion, online baby factories, organ and ritual recruitment, and deceptive migration scams. The dialogue was anchored around core pillars examining current trends, evaluating legal frameworks, emphasizing multi-agency collaboration among entities such as Interpol, the Nigerian Immigration Service, and the Joint Case Team on Cybercrime, and formulating actionable legal strategies.
Participants actively engaged the experts on critical issues, raising questions regarding inter-agency coordination, victim support, and the need for better data and protection mechanisms. In response, stakeholders outlined specific, actionable commitments moving forward. NAPTIP committed to working with its internal IT department to immediately resolve technical bottlenecks affecting the agency’s toll-free lines and shortcodes to ensure seamless public reporting.
Additionally, consensus was reached on prioritizing continuous digital forensics training for law enforcement officers, digitizing and integrating operations across relevant agencies, and advocating for increased government budgeting for survivor services, safe shelters, and holistic rehabilitation.
The post-event consensus highlighted the urgent need for continuous public awareness, enhanced digital forensics capacity within law enforcement, and stricter enforcement of data protection and cybercrime laws to shut down online recruitment pipelines. The Juritrust Centre remains firmly committed to driving socio-legal research, public discourse, and policy reforms aimed at eradicating human trafficking in all its forms.