Nigeria has been ranked second in Criminality Score out of 54 African countries in the Global Organised Crime Index amid its emergence as a major transit point for the global heroin trade, with drug traffickers using the country to smuggle large quantities of heroin to Europe and North America.
Nigerian trafficking groups collaborate with drug cartels in South America, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, and state corruption facilitates these operations. The country also experiences a relatively high rate of heroin use, driven by factors such as easy drug access, poverty, job insecurity, and unemployment. Nigeria also serves as a significant transit point for trafficked cocaine destined for various global markets.
Nigerian actors are prominent on the intra-African trade routes, particularly on-air trafficking routes. Nigerian networks are also prominent in the air trafficking of cocaine shipments, primarily from Brazil to markets in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, utilising a network of co-conspirators within the diaspora. Authorities have reported multiple large cocaine seizures and subsequent arrests.
The report noted that arms trafficking is a significant security concern in Nigeria, owing to the country’s geographical location and regional security dynamics. Nigeria is a transit and destination country for illicit weapons, which are smuggled through land borders, air borders, and the vast coastline. Various factors, such as armed violence, conflict with violent extremist groups, and banditry, drive arms trafficking.
Cybercrime poses a significant threat in Nigeria, targeting both Nigerian citizens and individuals from other countries. Instances of cybercrime have expanded beyond the large cities in southern Nigeria and are now prevalent in the northern region. Authorities recently raised concerns about new malware strains that infect mobile devices through malicious links.
While cyber-dependent crime targeting individuals has experienced a significant rise, it is considered less severe than the more serious cyber-dependent crime committed to attack major organizational systems, national security, and critical infrastructure databases. Nonetheless, the prevalence of cybercrime remains a concern in Nigeria, and increased efforts are necessary to enhance cybersecurity measures and combat these illicit activities.
Also, human trafficking is a significant issue in Nigeria, affecting men, women, and children. Networks operating from southern Nigeria, particularly Benin City in Edo State, specialise in sex trafficking within West Africa and Europe. Other networks focus on labour exploitation, especially involving children, for domestic work, begging, small commerce, mining, and farming within the country and the West African region.
So-called baby factories, where pregnant, unmarried women from impoverished backgrounds are deceived and promised large sums of money in exchange for their babies, have also emerged, particularly in the south-east region. Trafficking for both sexual and labour exploitation, including of children, has been reported in the country’s largest cities, notably Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Port Harcourt and Onitsha.
The socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic worsened the scale of trafficking in the country while increasing violence and insecurity have resulted in displacement and a loss of livelihood, leaving many children vulnerable to exploitation. Armed groups involved in the continuing conflict in north-east Nigeria, notably Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), are also known to recruit children and use them as child soldiers in various roles.
Human smuggling is also widespread in Nigeria, driven by factors such as population size, increasing levels of poverty, and porous borders. Nigerian human smuggling networks primarily target European countries and often pass through North African nations such as Niger and Mali. Human smuggling from Nigeria to North Africa and Europe tends to be more organised than other West African countries.
Nigerian diaspora communities facilitate the process by assisting victims, and transnational criminal organizations are often involved as well. A desperation to leave Nigeria for education and work, combined with the economic downturn caused by falling oil prices, contributes to the widespread human smuggling in the country.
While levels of violence are relatively low, corruption and a sense of impunity among state officials are endemic. Smugglers are often perceived as benefiting the community.
Kidnapping for ransom, extortion, and protection racketeering pose significant security challenges in Nigeria. Kidnappings often involve clashes between the perpetrators themselves and have targeted foreign nationals residing in residential compounds, people travelling on public roads, as well as offshore and land-based oil facilities. Sometimes, kidnapping for ransom is conducted as a non-violent transactional crime, but on many occasions, it can involve lethal violence.
The prevalence of ‘kito’, a crime whereby predators target and extort primarily LGBTQ+ individuals through dating apps, has increased since the implementation of an anti-LGBTQ+ law in January 2014. In northern Nigeria, the extremist group ISWAP has assumed quasi-governance functions within some communities, offering protection arrangements in insecure areas to establish trust and support in local communities.
Notably, where exercising an element of a governance function, ISWAP has opted to tax livelihood owners instead of engaging in cattle rustling activities to maintain a more favourable relationship with communities. However, the dynamics remain extremely violent.
Global Organised Crime Index is an innovative tool designed to measure levels of organised crime in a country and assess their resilience to organised criminal activity. The U.S. government provided funding.
The ENACT programme supported the Organised Crime Index design and development. ENACT is funded by the European Union and implemented by the Institute for Security Studies and INTERPOL, in affiliation with the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime.
