The United States of America has accused the Nigerian government of re-trafficking women and girls by forcibly returning them to Boko Haram terrorists’ “husbands” and other traffickers, despite claims of fighting modern slavery and sexual exploitation, Peoples Gazette can report.

In its 2025 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, released on September 30, and obtained by The Gazette, the U.S. Department of State said Nigeria had failed to meet key standards in victim protection, despite reporting improvements in law enforcement actions against traffickers.

While Nigeria remains on the Tier 2 Watchlist—a ranking for countries making “significant efforts” but still falling short—the report noted that women and girls liberated from non-state armed groups in the North-East were often treated as criminals rather than victims.

“In some cases, authorities detained or returned victims to their Boko Haram husbands and traffickers,” the report stated, warning that insufficient screening by security agencies and state authorities in Borno had left vulnerable victims exposed to renewed exploitation.

The report, however, acknowledged that Nigeria had improved prosecution and conviction rates under the Trafficking in Persons Law Enforcement and Administration Act (TIPLEAA). In 2024, authorities initiated 744 investigations, filed 71 prosecutions, and secured 49 convictions, more than double the number in 2023. Sentences ranged from one to 15 years’ imprisonment.

It also cited increased funding for victim protection—from ₦50.8 million in 2024 to more than ₦128 million in 2025—and greater coordination with NGOs, alongside expanded awareness campaigns.

But endemic corruption within law enforcement and the judiciary, the report said, continued to obstruct justice. Some security personnel, including immigration and Civilian Joint Task Force operatives, were implicated in trafficking crimes, while NAPTIP staff were previously disciplined for soliciting bribes and leaking case files. It noted that few were ever prosecuted.

“Observers reported some law enforcement, military, and other government officials reportedly committed trafficking crimes, accepted bribes to facilitate trafficking, or obstructed justice by interfering with investigations,” the U.S. government observed.

The U.S. report particularly faulted Nigeria’s handling of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and women linked to Boko Haram through forced marriages.

It noted that despite the adoption of a National Referral Mechanism and standard operating procedures for victim identification, officials frequently failed to screen vulnerable populations for trafficking indicators. This meant that instead of receiving protection, victims—including children exploited in begging or domestic work—were detained or punished for crimes committed under coercion.

Non-Governmental Organisations cited by the report said some victims were placed in detention compounds alongside their suspected traffickers due to lack of space in shelters, worsening their trauma.

“The quantity and quality of shelter services, especially for men, were insufficient,” the report said, adding that NAPTIP’s closed-shelter policy restricted residents’ freedom of movement, including children’s access to school.

In 2025, the government officially identified 2,058 trafficking victims—an increase from 1,194 the previous year. Women and girls formed the majority, while NGOs identified an additional 163 cases. But observers warned that reintegration support was lacking, increasing the risk of re-trafficking.

The report further accused the Nigerian government of flouting both international and domestic obligations, including Section 40 of Nigeria’s Constitution, which guarantees freedom of association, and the ILO Conventions on forced labour and the rights of workers to unionise.

While the government has enacted legislation such as the 2015 TIPLEAA and the 2022 Money Laundering Act, implementation was undermined by weak institutions and official complicity.

The TIP Report also criticised Nigeria for failing to operationalise a victims’ trust fund, despite provisions in the law for confiscated traffickers’ assets to be redirected to survivors.

Particularly damning was the assessment of how the federal and Borno State governments dealt with women who had escaped or rescued from Boko Haram captivity. Instead of being treated as survivors of trafficking and sexual slavery, some were detained or pressured to return to their “husbands” within the insurgent group.

This practice, the U.S. said, not only violated international norms but also reinforced cycles of exploitation.

Analysts say the finding echoes long-standing complaints from rights groups in Nigeria that counter-terrorism operations in the northeast frequently criminalise women and girls rather than rehabilitate them.

The U.S. urged Nigeria to strengthen victim screening, protect survivors from punishment, and hold complicit officials accountable. It also called for the expansion of shelters, greater training of frontline officers, and the activation of the victims’ trust fund.

The report stressed that “corruption involving trafficking crimes, including among law enforcement officials and the judiciary, remained significant concerns and contributed to impunity for traffickers.”