Nigeria is stepping up efforts to strengthen its response to human trafficking and migrant smuggling by closing gaps between investigation, prosecution and judicial proceedings as criminal networks become increasingly sophisticated and operate across national borders.

The move is aimed at ensuring that trafficking cases are properly investigated, successfully prosecuted and effectively adjudicated, while victims receive adequate protection throughout the justice process.

Nigeria’s position as a country of origin, transit and destination for migrants has exposed it to increasingly complex trafficking and migrant-smuggling activities, making closer cooperation among investigators, prosecutors, judges, intelligence officers and other law-enforcement agencies critical.

Speaking in Abuja on Monday at the opening of a capacity-building workshop on “Strengthening the Criminal Justice Chain in Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Cases,” the Director-General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Binta Bello, said the effectiveness of the country’s response depended on strengthening every stage of the criminal justice process.

Bello warned that trafficking and migrant-smuggling networks were exploiting human vulnerability on a growing scale, with their activities posing threats to human rights, national security and economic stability.

She said the increasing sophistication of criminal syndicates meant that strengthening only one part of the justice system would not be enough to defeat them.

“A criminal justice system is only as strong as its weakest link,” Bello said, explaining that weaknesses in intelligence gathering, evidence collection or judicial proceedings could ultimately allow dangerous criminals to escape justice while victims remained exposed.

She said the workshop was therefore designed to improve cooperation among investigators, prosecutors and judicial authorities, while strengthening the quality of case files and ensuring a smoother transition from investigation to prosecution and final judicial decisions.

The training is also expected to improve participants’ understanding of the connections between human trafficking, migrant smuggling, financial crimes, cybercrime and wider cross-border security threats.

Bello said particular attention would be given to financial investigations, digital evidence and international legal cooperation, including Mutual Legal Assistance, as trafficking syndicates increasingly use technology and sophisticated financial networks to facilitate their operations.

The NAPTIP chief also emphasised the need for a victim-centred justice system, saying survivors must be protected from further trauma while pursuing justice against their perpetrators.

According to her, NAPTIP’s response is built around its five-pronged approach of Policy, Prevention, Protection, Prosecution and Partnership.

She disclosed that the agency had secured hundreds of convictions against traffickers and continued to pursue stringent sentences as part of efforts to discourage organised criminal groups from engaging in the crime.

Bello added that thousands of victims, including women, children and young men, had been rescued from various forms of exploitation, ranging from domestic servitude and forced labour to sexual exploitation, organ trafficking and technology-enabled abuse.

She said rescued victims were being supported through psychosocial services, medical care, vocational training and reintegration programmes provided through NAPTIP’s specialised shelters across the country.

But as traffickers increasingly move their operations online, the agency is also changing its investigative methods.

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Bello said NAPTIP had expanded its intelligence-gathering operations to track online trafficking networks, fraudulent employment schemes and cyber-enabled exploitation activities operating both within Nigeria and across international borders.

She added that joint operations involving security agencies, border-control authorities and international law-enforcement partners had helped disrupt transnational criminal syndicates and trafficking routes connecting West Africa with Europe.

The agency, she said, had also reviewed its operational guidelines, strengthened procedures for identifying victims and improved evidence-gathering techniques to bring investigations closer to international standards.

Despite the progress, Bello warned that the evolving tactics of criminal networks meant Nigeria could not afford to become complacent.

She called for continuous innovation, institutional reforms and stronger collaboration across the entire criminal justice chain to ensure that traffickers and smugglers could not exploit weaknesses between law-enforcement institutions.

The capacity-building workshop is being implemented under the Common Operational Partnership (COP Nigeria), led by CIVIPOL in collaboration with the Fundación para la Internacionalización de las Administraciones Públicas (FIAP), under the Support to Migration Governance Component 3 project in Nigeria.

The initiative is funded by the European Union in partnership with Nigerian authorities and focuses on strengthening migration governance and improving the country’s capacity to combat human trafficking and migrant smuggling.

Bello expressed appreciation to the European Union for its continued support, saying investment in Nigeria’s migration-management and anti-trafficking systems would contribute to stronger security, justice and protection of human dignity.

She also commended CIVIPOL and FIAP for their technical and institutional support, while recognising the contributions of security agencies, judicial officers, civil society organisations and other stakeholders involved in combating trafficking.

Addressing the participants, Bello urged them to look beyond the workshop and build professional relationships that could improve cooperation among their institutions.

“You represent the frontline defence of our nation’s criminal justice system against exploitation,” she told them.

She challenged participants to exchange practical experiences, question existing approaches and adopt best practices that could strengthen Nigeria’s ability to identify victims, investigate trafficking networks, prosecute offenders and dismantle criminal operations.

For Bello, the issue extends beyond statistics, convictions and case files.

She reminded the participants that behind every investigation and court proceeding is a human being whose life may have been devastated by exploitation and who depends on the justice system for protection and redress.

She said a stronger criminal justice chain would make it increasingly difficult for traffickers to exploit institutional gaps, operate with impunity or turn Nigeria into a safe haven for organised exploitation.