The Network Against Child Trafficking, Abuse and Labour (NACTAL) Nigeria expresses serious concern over what it considers the inadequate representation of civil society organisations (CSOs) and their contributions in the 2026 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report released by the United States Department of State.
We recognise the importance of the TIP Report as an international assessment of countries’ efforts to combat human trafficking. However, we underscore that an assessment of Nigeria’s response must reflect the contributions of all relevant stakeholders, including government institutions, civil society organisations, international development partners, community-based organisations and other actors working to prevent trafficking, protect victims and support survivors.
Nigeria’s anti-trafficking response is bigger than government institutions alone. Any assessment that fails to adequately capture the work of civil society risks presenting an incomplete picture of the country’s efforts, achievements, challenges and existing capacities.
THE INVISIBLE WORK OF CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS
For years, civil society organisations across Nigeria have remained at the forefront of efforts to prevent human trafficking, identify vulnerable persons, support rescue and referral interventions, provide protection services and assist survivors in rebuilding their lives.
These organisations work directly with communities, families, schools, religious institutions, vulnerable children, women, men and returning migrants. Their interventions include public awareness campaigns, community mobilisation, identification and referral of potential victims, psychosocial support, case management, temporary accommodation, family tracing and reunification, vocational training, livelihood assistance and reintegration support.
Many of these organisations operate with limited resources while responding to complex protection needs. Some maintain shelters and provide direct assistance to vulnerable persons and survivors, complementing the work of government agencies and helping to bridge gaps in service delivery.
Organisations such as Patriotic Citizen Initiatives (PCI), alongside other NACTAL member organisations and specialist service providers, contribute to protection, psychosocial support and reintegration interventions for vulnerable persons and returning migrants. Their work illustrates the importance of community-based and non-governmental interventions within Nigeria’s broader response to exploitation and trafficking-related vulnerabilities.
These contributions are not incidental. They are integral to the prevention of trafficking, the protection of survivors and the reduction of vulnerability to further exploitation.
We are therefore concerned that the contributions of frontline civil society organisations, particularly their protection capacity, shelter services, prevention activities and survivor support, are not sufficiently visible in the assessment as we understand it.
A national response cannot be fully understood by examining government activities alone while giving inadequate attention to the organisations providing services directly to affected individuals and communities.
PROTECTION AND SHELTER CAPACITY MUST COUNT
One of our greatest concerns is the insufficient recognition of the role of non-governmental organisations in victim protection.
Protection does not end when a victim is identified, rescued or referred to an authority. Survivors may require safe accommodation, food, healthcare, psychosocial care, legal assistance, family tracing, vocational training, economic support and sustained follow-up to rebuild their lives and reduce the risk of re-trafficking.
Civil society organisations contribute significantly to these interventions. Some operate dedicated shelters, while others provide community-based support, referrals and specialised services through partnerships with government institutions and development organisations.
Shelter capacity is particularly important. Maintaining safe accommodation requires trained personnel, adequate funding, appropriate facilities, psychosocial services and mechanisms for continued care. These are substantial responsibilities that cannot be overlooked when evaluating the effectiveness of a country’s anti-trafficking response.
Where CSOs provide these services, their capacities, limitations and documented results should be reflected in the assessment. Where shelter spaces, specialised services or funding remain insufficient, those gaps should equally be recognised so that appropriate support can be mobilised.
It would be misleading to assess protection outcomes without adequately considering the contribution of organisations that provide direct assistance to vulnerable people and survivors.
PREVENTION: THE WORK THAT BEGINS BEFORE A VICTIM IS IDENTIFIED
Civil society organisations also play a critical role in preventing human trafficking before exploitation occurs.
Through community sensitisation, school outreach, religious and traditional institutions, advocacy, youth engagement and public education, CSOs help people recognise deceptive recruitment, false employment promises, exploitative migration arrangements and other trafficking risks.
Their proximity to communities enables them to identify vulnerabilities, engage families, encourage reporting and connect at-risk individuals to appropriate services.
These activities may not always produce the same immediately visible outcomes as arrests, prosecutions or convictions. Nevertheless, prevention is fundamental to a comprehensive anti-trafficking strategy.
An assessment that concentrates predominantly on government enforcement activities without adequately documenting community-level prevention risks overlooking an important dimension of the national response.
NACTAL therefore calls for greater recognition of the measurable prevention work undertaken by CSOs, including the communities reached, awareness programmes delivered, people referred for assistance, partnerships established and interventions implemented to reduce vulnerability to exploitation.
INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS AND DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT MUST BE RECOGNISED
Nigeria’s anti-trafficking and protection landscape is also shaped by collaboration with international organisations and development partners.
The European Union, through relevant programmes and partnerships involving organisations such as the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), FIAP, Expertise France, UNODC has supported activities across relevant migration-management, prevention, protection, capacity-building and reintegration areas.
These interventions involve cooperation among international partners, government institutions and civil society implementing organisations. Their impact must therefore be understood through the work delivered by the wider partnership, including the local organisations responsible for reaching communities and providing direct services.
NACTAL emphasises that international partnerships should not be discussed solely in terms of institutional agreements or government engagement. The contributions of implementing CSOs, frontline service providers and community partners must also be adequately documented.
We call for an assessment process that recognises the relationship between international support, local implementation capacity and the actual services delivered to vulnerable individuals and survivors.
NIGERIA’S TIER 2 STATUS AND GHANA’S TIER 1 UPGRADE
NACTAL notes Nigeria’s continued placement on Tier 2 and Ghana’s elevation to Tier 1 in the 2026 TIP Report.
We acknowledge that tier classifications are based on the U.S. Department of State’s assessment of applicable minimum standards and government efforts, and that each country must be assessed on the evidence relating to its own circumstances.
Nevertheless, the contrast raises an important question for Nigeria’s anti-trafficking community: has the full scope of relevant interventions and the contributions of all key stakeholders been adequately considered and represented?
Nigeria has a broad network of institutions and organisations engaged in prevention, victim identification, protection, shelter services, referrals, rehabilitation, advocacy and reintegration. These interventions deserve to be documented and assessed through verifiable evidence.
Our concern is not that Nigeria should automatically receive a higher classification because CSOs are active. Neither are we suggesting that the country has no outstanding challenges. Human trafficking remains a serious concern, and there is a continuing need to strengthen investigations, prosecutions, victim identification, access to justice, protection services and sustainable reintegration.
Rather, we insist that a comprehensive assessment must recognise both the progress achieved and the gaps that remain. The contributions of civil society should be examined alongside government performance, and the evidence provided by relevant stakeholders should inform a balanced understanding of the national response.
If civil society organisations are helping to prevent trafficking, provide shelter, support survivors and facilitate reintegration, their work must be visible in the evidence used to assess Nigeria’s efforts.
OUR POSITION AND DEMANDS
In light of these concerns, NACTAL Nigeria calls on the United States Department of State to:
Review the assessment of Nigeria in the 2026 TIP Report and examine whether the contributions of civil society organisations and other non-state actors have been adequately documented and considered.
Engage NACTAL and its member organisations, specialist anti-trafficking organisations, shelter operators, survivor-support providers and reintegration practitioners to obtain additional evidence of their interventions.
Recognise the role of civil society in victim protection, including safe accommodation, psychosocial support, referrals, case management, rehabilitation and follow-up services.
Adequately reflect prevention efforts undertaken by CSOs through community awareness, public education, advocacy, capacity building and engagement with vulnerable populations.
Consider the contributions of international development partners, including the European Union, IOM, ICMPD, FIAP, Expertise France, UNODC while documenting the roles of local implementing organisations and the results of their supported activities.
Strengthen stakeholder consultation and evidence gathering so that assessments reflect reliable information from government institutions, civil society, international partners and other relevant actors.
Provide an opportunity for supplementary submissions and clarification from Nigerian stakeholders whose documented interventions may not have been adequately reflected in the report.
We believe these steps would support a more comprehensive understanding of Nigeria’s anti-trafficking response and help identify where additional resources, coordination and institutional support are required.
A CALL FOR FAIR REPRESENTATION, COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY
NACTAL Nigeria is not calling for the exemption of Nigeria from scrutiny. We are calling for an assessment that is comprehensive, evidence-based and reflective of the full range of relevant interventions.
The fight against human trafficking is a collective responsibility. Government agencies cannot shoulder it alone, and civil society organisations cannot operate effectively without appropriate institutional cooperation, resources and recognition of their contributions.
Our position is straightforward: the efforts of civil society organisations must not be rendered invisible in the assessment of Nigeria’s anti-trafficking response.
We urge the United States Department of State to engage Nigeria’s wider anti-trafficking community and review the assessment in light of additional verifiable evidence where necessary. We also encourage Nigerian stakeholders to strengthen documentation, data collection, coordination and the submission of evidence demonstrating their contributions and the challenges they face.
Nigeria deserves an assessment that recognises the full picture: the efforts being made, the lives being supported, the communities being reached, the protection services being delivered and the gaps that still require urgent attention.
Civil society organisations are not spectators in the fight against human trafficking. They are active participants in prevention, protection, partnership and reintegration. Their work deserves to be properly documented, considered and recognised.
NACTAL Nigeria remains committed to working with government institutions, civil society organisations, international partners and communities to strengthen the national response, protect vulnerable persons, uphold the dignity of survivors and ensure that perpetrators of human trafficking are held accountable.
