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The United States has criticized Nigeria for persistent human trafficking and concerns over child soldiers, raising alarm over alleged official complicity and authorities’ failure to report the prosecution of public servants accused of involvement in trafficking crimes.
The concerns are contained in the US Department of State’s 2026 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report, which covers developments between April 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026.
While acknowledging a significant increase in investigations, prosecutions and convictions, Washington kept Nigeria in Tier 2, saying the federal government still does not fully meet minimum standards to eliminate trafficking, although it continues to make significant efforts to do so.
More significantly, the report placed Nigeria on the Child Soldiers Prevention Act (CSPA) list, along with Afghanistan, Burma, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Iran, Russia, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Venezuela and Yemen.
The list may cover specific categories of US military assistance and defense cooperation, subject to applicable presidential waivers
At the heart of Washington’s criticism is what the State Department has described as persistent corruption and official complicity in trafficking crimes.
Although Nigerian authorities prosecuted dozens of suspected traffickers and nearly doubled the number of convictions during the reporting period, the United States said no corresponding action was reported against government employees allegedly implicated in trafficking.
“The government did not report any investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of public officials allegedly complicit in trafficking crimes, nor did it provide details or other actions taken against complicit officials from previous years,” the report said.
The discovery highlights what Washington sees as a major weakness in Nigeria’s anti-trafficking campaign: the apparent failure to hold allegedly complicit public officials accountable, even as ordinary human trafficking suspects are prosecuted.
The United States also expressed concern about Boko Haram’s treatment of women and girls in forced marriages, saying that in some cases victims, including trafficking victims, were forced to return by Boko Haram husbands to demobilization centers in Borno State.
The State Department also placed Nigeria on the CSPA list due to the continued recruitment and exploitation of children by terrorist groups operating in the country.
The report specifically identifies Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa, rather than the Nigerian military, as those who continue to recruit, abduct and use children.
According to the assessment, children as young as 12 are recruited or abducted and used, including through force, fraud and coercion, as cooks, domestic workers, spies, porters, messengers, bodyguards, checkpoint guards, morality police, armed combatants and suicide bombers.
The distinction is significant because Nigeria’s inclusion on the CSPA list does not amount to an accusation that the Nigerian military is recruiting children.
Rather, U.S. law also covers countries where government forces or government-backed armed groups recruit or use child soldiers, as defined by the law.
Washington also noted that, unlike the previous reporting period, Nigerian authorities did not report the transfer of children associated with non-state armed groups for adequate protection and rehabilitation.
According to the CSPA list, restrictions may apply to international military education and training, foreign military financing, excess defense articles, peacekeeping assistance, and licenses for direct commercial sales of military equipment, subject to presidential waiver.
Beyond the insurgency in the north-east, the report paints a disturbing picture of trafficking networks operating across Nigeria, particularly so-called “child factories”.
According to the State Department, the facilities are often disguised as orphanages, maternity homes or religious centers.
Women are allegedly held against their will in some facilities, raped and forced to carry their pregnancies to term before the children are sold.
The report states that Nigerian authorities and non-governmental organizations view these operations as a widespread criminal industry, particularly in southern Nigeria.
Children are also subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor in granite quarries, artisanal mines, domestic work, begging, street vending, textile production and agriculture, while adults and children are exploited in forced labor on cocoa plantations.
The report also states that some corrupt teachers at Qur’anic schools exploit children, especially boys from rural communities, through forced begging and seasonal agricultural work.
In some states, women and girls are also subjected to forced marriages under the traditional practice of “cash marriages,” in which families give them up to older men to pay off debts.
Washington has expressed particular concern about the sharp decline in the number of trafficking survivors receiving government assistance.
According to the report, 675 victims received assistance in 2025, compared to 2,058 the previous year, despite authorities identifying thousands of trafficking victims.
Support for male victims was described as particularly inadequate, with only one dedicated NGO shelter available for adult male survivors of trafficking during the year.
The report also criticizes conditions in shelters run by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), saying residents are not allowed freedom of movement.
Access to some protective services is linked to victims’ willingness to cooperate with law enforcement proceedings, while adults who refused shelter accommodation were not provided with alternative services, leaving them potentially vulnerable to further exploitation.
Washington also said Nigeria has no formal policy to prevent trafficking victims from being relocated to countries where they could face hardship or retaliation.
The State Department has also identified some weaknesses in Nigeria’s labor recruitment system.
It said the government did not prohibit workers from paying recruitment fees, did not report holding recruiters civilly or criminally liable for fraudulent recruitment, and did not provide specialized training on child labor and human trafficking to labor inspectors.
The report also states that diplomatic staff were not provided with anti-trafficking training.
But the concerns went beyond Nigerians who were trafficked at home and abroad.
According to the report, highly organized foreign crime syndicates fraudulently recruit foreigners in Nigeria with promises of work, confine them to rented properties and force them to participate in organized online scams.
He also raised concerns about Russia’s Alabuga Start program, saying sources said Nigeria’s Ministry of Education helped promote the program despite warning signs.
The report alleged that Russian authorities fraudulently recruited and used Nigerians to fight in the Russia-Ukraine war.
It further said that North Korean citizens working in Nigeria may be operating under exploitative conditions that show indicators of forced labor, while some Chinese citizens working in the country may have been subjected to forced labor.
Despite strong concerns, the State Department acknowledged that Nigeria intensified its overall fight against trafficking during the reporting period.
Authorities investigated 1,341 trafficking cases involving 1,367 suspects, nearly double the 744 investigations recorded the previous year.
The government prosecuted 94 suspects and convicted 97 traffickers, compared to 71 prosecutions and 49 convictions in 2024.
Most of these convicts received prison sentences of at least one year.
Funding for victim services also increased from N128 million to N233 million, while the allocation for trafficking prevention increased from N58.8 million to N245 million.
Authorities identified 2,004 trafficking victims and coordinated the repatriation of 428 Nigerians exploited abroad.
The government also secured the restitution of 14 victims as part of criminal sentences, maintained standard operating procedures and the national referral mechanism, operated an anti-trafficking hotline, and continued the implementation of its National Action Plan 2022-2026.
Anti-trafficking task forces were operational in 23 states, while police established a cybercrime unit to combat organized online scam operations and worked with INTERPOL and foreign governments on investigations across West Africa and Southeast Asia.
Such measures were among the reasons why Washington kept Nigeria in Tier 2 rather than downgrading the country.
Nigeria has been the subject of constant international scrutiny over human trafficking due to its position as a country of origin, transit and destination for victims of sexual exploitation, forced labor and other forms of trafficking.
