Licensed international recruiters under the umbrella of the Association of Recruiter License Placement Agent of Nigeria (ARLPAN), have raised an alarm over the escalating activities of illegal human traffickers operating in Nigeria.
The association listed 14 trafficking rings located in Iraq with their agents operating in Nigeria and trafficking Nigerians through the Abuja, Lagos and Kano international airports allegedly with the aid of Nigerian Immigration officers.
The ARLPAN told SaharaReporters that its Rapid Response Team has uncovered compelling evidence of unethical practices, including exploitation and mistreatment, of Nigerian migrant workers by certain manpower offices in Iraq.
The association identified the offices (trafficking rings) to include Zho Alshrooq Co. Public Services and Recruitment; Green Trees Company; Sound of the Sea Company for Recruitment of Labour; Balad Alroya Company; Baghdad Beacon Company; Zuhoor Alsharq Company; Al Qethara Company, and Rawaa Al khabir Company for Recruitment of Manpower.
Others are Ayahdi Al-Raseenah Company; Bareeq Alnoor Company; Burj Alkhaleej Company; Sawt Al Bahr Recruitment Company; Karam Al-Muatasem Company; Al- Kabir Manpower Company and Al- Sahel & Co.
ARLPAN said, “Human trafficking in Nigeria, has now become norms where some individuals have taken over international recruitment in Nigeria and the reality of the situation is that, many of our countrymen who are deployed for oversea employment by unlicensed/unregistered individual{s} that are not regulated are habitually abusing and making young Nigerians to face various injustices including being overworked, underpaid, abused, raped, and even worse by their foreign employers.
“It is alarming that some domestic workers (popularly called shagala) in the gulf, who are also Nigerian nationals, have become complicit in human trafficking, actively recruiting and trafficking their fellow Nigerians into Iraq, thereby perpetuating the cycle of exploitation and abuse.
“Some domestic workers are been asked to pay 6 to 10 months or more of their salary to agents putting them in debt bondage, not to forget some Nigerians are now permanently residing in Iraq who are agents working in these offices and recruiting Nigerians for these Iraqi offices despite knowing fully well that these offices are bad but for their financial benefits, decides to neglect the well-being of their fellow Nigerian.
“Furthermore, some Nigeria migrant workers who are opportune to become supervisors and office secretaries in some of these companies, these sets of people decide to work with some others in the office beating and putting their fellow Nigerians in the cell, they easily transport abortion pills to Iraq selling to Nigeria Migrant workers who are found pregnant upon arrival in Iraq
“An individual without medical training or licensure is not qualified to provide medical advice or treatment, including prescribing or selling abortion pills forgetting that it can lead to serious harm or even death.”
The ARLPAN lamented that the consequences of not regulating the recruitment process have led to a situation where unlicensed recruiters can operate with impunity, disregarding the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) established by the Nigerian government.
“These individuals are not well informed about the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) of international recruitment in Nigeria and the ratified ILO Convention 190 {Decent Work for Domestic Workers}, a landmark instrument that recognizes domestic work as work.
“Thus failing to protect migrant workers who are victims of human trafficking, trapped in abusive households and subjected to physical and sexual violence with no access to justice or a safe route home,” the association added.
The ARLPAN urged the Nigerian law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute human traffickers as Nigerians are being trafficked on a daily basis through the country’s international airports, specifically Abuja Lagos and Kano to Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
“Our association has identified a concerning trend involving unlicensed individuals utilizing these airports to transport victims of human trafficking and via Egypt Airline and Qatar Airline, Ethiopia Airline with the aid of some of our immigration officers who collect money from the unlicensed recruiters. And such money is not receipted but called boarding money,” ARLPAN told SaharaReporters.
ARLPAN recalled that on January 21, 2025, the Chairperson of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri, in a press statement said 5,000 Nigerians were stranded in Iraq.
ARLPAN told SaharaReporters, “Yes there are Nigerians in Iraq prison and they are up to 10,000.”
ARLPAN said, “These unlicensed individuals consistently disregard the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) established by the Government of Nigeria and the Federal Ministry of Labour.
“This blatant disregard for the law poses a significant threat to the lives and well-being of Nigerian migrants overseas, rendering them vulnerable to human traffickers.
“Some even called the labour license issued by the Federal Ministry a mere paper because they can easily move Nigerians without being checkmated by the appropriate authorities at the airports.
“There’s urgent need for reform and the already existing legal frameworks and regulations from the MDAs is the only silver lining in this situation that will serve as a guide for international recruitment in Nigeria.
“Most especially domestic worker protection because placing a ban will encourage Nigerian oversea workers to turn to illicit means and consequently put themselves at risk for human trafficking in their desperation to find jobs abroad just like the case of Saudi Arabia.
“While a robust regulatory framework is in place to combat irregular migration, effective implementation and enforcement are crucial to achieving this objective.”
ARLPAN said to strengthen the existing framework and curb the spate of human trafficking in Nigeria, the Nigerian government must enhance international cooperation to ensure fair and humane migration policies, especially signing of BLAs or MOUs.
The association also recommended mandatory departure orientation where the government must conduct thorough departure orientations to educate migrant workers on their rights, responsibilities, and the risks associated with irregular migration.
It also recommended that the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) conduct clearance exercise for recruiters where they must provide detailed information on both employers and employees, including office name and address; offer letter; letter of indemnity; parental consent, and employee’s passport, National Identity Number (NIN), and other relevant details.
ARLPAN further recommended that the Nigerian government must improve border management while upholding human rights and dignity.
It said, “Applicable clearances (Labour license of the PEA, NAPTIP clearances) must be vetted at various exit points by Nigeria Immigration Service at all times.
“The Final Departure Protocol at International Airports is to prevent irregular migration, airlines should only airlift Nigerian migrant workers with employment visas who have basic requirements, which includes NAPTIP CLEARANCE.
“This measure will help eliminate the risk of human trafficking and ensure that migrant workers are protected.”
ARLPAN added that some trafficking rings had already secured visas for Nigerians through the trafficking agents.
An official of the Nigeria Immigration Service who spoke on condition of anonymity stated that the authorities were unaware of their officials’ involvement in such activities.
The official said, “What is obvious is that it is not possible immigration air command to be aware of these rings and allow it to pester. That is not possible because immigration air command has zero tolerance for such kind of behaviour.
“As you have brought it to our notice now, our job now is to go back to our system and fix whatever holes that is there.
“But there is the need for us to make a distinction between trafficking in person and smuggling of migrants.
“If it is a case of trafficking, it is exclusively the preserve of NAPTIP. If it is smuggling of migrants, that is our job, NIS, because we have a unit called Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (ASM), and in fact we have clubs up to secondary school level that people join and we preach against smuggling of migrants.
“Trafficking in person is a different ball game. It is possible that some of our personnel are involved but that is not what we do. That is not our job.
“You have just given us a reason to beam our searchlight on those locations and we are going to do it. It is against the law and it is not even about body language.
“Officers are not expected to participate or connive or be involved in any form of illegality. We will have to do in-house searching. We definitely take this seriously.”