PROSPER OKOYE
The Foundation for the Internationalization of Public Administration, FIAP, has conducted a three-day Learning Lab for members of the Network Against Child Trafficking, Abuse and Labour, NACTAL, to strengthen monitoring and reporting on human trafficking in Nigeria.
The training was held in Keffi, Nasarawa State, as part of Component Three of the European Union-funded Support to Migration Governance in Nigeria project.
The project focuses on improving Nigeria’s response to trafficking in persons, TIP, and smuggling of migrants, SOM, by building existing capacities and cooperation to prevent, protect and prosecute.
FIAP, a Spanish public foundation working across more than 100 countries, said the initiative was designed to close gaps in reporting and ensure civil society work is reflected in national and international anti-trafficking data systems.
Speaking on the sidelines of the workshop, FIAP’s Deputy Team Lead, Javier Leon, said the training was developed in response to identified needs within partner networks including NACTAL and government agencies.
Leon said partner agencies include the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP, the Nigeria Police and the Nigeria Immigration Service.
“This training is part of our work plan. We work with our partners to identify gaps and design activities that respond to those needs,” Leon said.
He said weak reporting systems had continued to limit visibility of anti-trafficking interventions despite ongoing efforts by civil society and government actors.
Leon, a seasoned Spanish Police investigator who worked on trafficking cases involving Nigerian victims, said poverty remained a major driver of irregular migration across Africa.
“Many people believe that opportunities abroad will automatically provide a better life, but the reality is more complex,” he said.
Leon called for safer legal migration pathways alongside efforts to address economic pressures driving irregular migration.
NACTAL National President, Abdul Ganiyu Abubakar, said the training was aimed at improving members’ capacity to use nationally approved reporting tools for trafficking in persons.
He said poor documentation had contributed to underreporting of civil society efforts in national and international assessments, including the U.S. Trafficking in Persons report.
“If we do not capture these interventions properly, we cannot present a realistic picture of the situation,” Abubakar said, adding that school abductions were increasing children’s vulnerability to trafficking.
NACTAL National Secretary, Osita Osemene, commended FIAP for supporting the learning lab, saying long-standing gaps in monitoring and evaluation had affected CSO reporting effectiveness.
