By Busayo Onijala
The Director-General of GIABA, Mr Edwin Harris, on Wednesday called for coordinated, victim-centred regional action to curb the growing menace of human trafficking in West Africa.
Harris said trafficking statistics represent “thousands of lives, often children,” robbed of dignity and opportunity, urging deeper interrogation of why the crime persists.
He spoke in Lagos at the opening ceremony of the fifth Joint Regional Forum of GIABA and ECOWAS Gender Development Centre, themed ‘Women and Transnational Organised Crime: Human Trafficking Risks in West Africa.’
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the forum convened financial intelligence experts, gender specialists, law enforcement agencies and civil society actors from across West Africa.
Harris, represented by Dr Jeffery Isima, Acting Director, Policy and Research Directorate, identified poverty and limited economic opportunities as key drivers, exploited by traffickers in rural and conflict-affected communities.
He said gender inequality and harmful social norms expose women and girls to sexual exploitation, forced marriage and other forms of trafficking.
Harris noted that in spite of existing anti-trafficking laws, weak implementation persists, especially in prevention, victim support and cross-border cooperation.
He praised the GIABA–EGDC partnership, describing it as natural and strategic in tackling trafficking’s financial and social dimensions.
“Trafficking has strong financial dimensions, including recruitment fees, transport networks, exploitation returns and laundering of illicit proceeds,” Harris said.
He explained that GIABA’s AML and CFT mandate complements EGDC’s work in gender development, community empowerment and child protection.
“A combined financial, investigative and social empowerment approach gives us the potential to tackle both victim supply and trafficker financing,” he said.
Harris acknowledged challenges such as resource constraints, corruption, legal gaps and capacity limitations, but said they were surmountable.
“Combatting human trafficking in West Africa is a moral imperative, not a compliance exercise,” he said, stressing the need for political will and accountability.
Earlier, the Director and CEO of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, Ms Hafsat Bakari, described the forum’s focus as timely and strategic.
Bakari said trafficking is a financially motivated criminal enterprise thriving on weak systems and fragmented responses.
Quoting ILO and UNODC data, she said forced labour and trafficking generate over 150 billion dollars annually worldwide.
“Women and girls account for over 60 per cent of identified victims globally, with sexual exploitation prevalent in our region,” she said.
Bakari noted that behind every trafficking victim lies a financial trail, including recruitment, transport, documentation and exploitation payments.
She said trafficking cannot be effectively tackled without integrating anti–money laundering and counter-financing tools into national and regional responses.
Bakari said the NFIU supports the fight through financial analysis, intelligence dissemination and domestic and international cooperation.
“Using Suspicious Transaction Reports and collaboration with NAPTIP, financial intelligence has helped identify networks, trace assets and disrupt proceeds,” she said.
Also speaking, NAPTIP Director-General, Mrs Binta Adamu, called for a unified, evidence-based and gender-responsive approach to dismantle trafficking networks.
She said NAPTIP prioritises intelligence-led investigations and enhanced digital monitoring.
She added that NAPTIP focuses on victim-centred protection frameworks and stronger inter-agency collaboration at national and sub-national levels.
Adamu said the agency has aligned its strategies with international commitments and strengthened partnerships with NFIU, NIS and technology-driven stakeholders. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Kamal Tayo Oropo
