Human Trafficking and Transnational Organized Crime: Implications for Security in Nigeria

Trafficking in persons remains rampant in many parts of the world, including Africa, despite regional and global efforts to combat and eradicate this scourge. In Africa, Nigerians constitute the largest number of victims in the organized African human trafficking networks. This paper examines human trafficking as a form of transnational organized crime and its implications for security in Nigeria. Drawing on extant literature, the study observes that the Nigerian government has not effectively tackled the menace of human trafficking as a result of its failure to address structural factors such as poverty, youth unemployment, corruption, gender discrimination, and the absence of strong interlocking national, regional, and international strategies rooted in global cooperation.