secure jobs after graduation, while those without ‘godfathers’ spend years
unemployed. Youths in employment are underpaid. For instance, a graduate
is paid a monthly salary of N14,000 (approximately US$120) in some states.
In addition, the youth are often the first victims of government restructuring
programmes, given their limited skills and knowledge about projects.
379.
Crime syndicates, politicians and others have taken advantage of
unemployed youths. Lawless youths terrorise the public and are a source
of social injustice. In some states, this has largely contributed to the
escalation of the conflict that exists in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Crimes involving children and young persons
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Rape cases among the youth are rampant, especially in some of the northern
states. Street children are also a common feature in Nigeria. Homeless
children living on the streets were found in most cities. Numerous factors
have caused children to turn to the streets, included instability in the
home, poverty, hunger, abuse and violence by parents, and displacement
caused by clashes in the community. HIV and AIDS also have a tremendous
impact on the numbers of orphaned street children.
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The CRM was also informed that Nigeria is a source, transit and destination
country for women and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labour
and commercial sexual exploitation. Within Nigeria, women and girls are
primarily trafficked for domestic servitude and sexual exploitation, and
boys by religious leaders for: forced begging; forced street hawking; labour
exploitation in agriculture, mining and stone quarries; and domestic labour.
BEST PRACTICE 3.5: NAPTIP
NAPTIP, in collaboration with security agencies, has apprehended and
prosecuted perpetrators of human trafficking. NAPTIP has served as the point of
contact for immigration and police officials when victims have been found, and
has directly provided overnight shelter for victims in Lagos, Abuja, Benin City,
Kano and Akwa Ibom. Agency officials connect victims to nongovernmental or
international organisations for shelter, counselling and reintegration assistance.
NAPTIP has established a hotline for victims and anyone seeking or wanting to
provide information regarding trafficking. The hotline received an estimated 500
calls during the year 2006. NAPTIP has organised seminars to raise awareness
of the dangers of trafficking, of legal protections and of available resources. In
addition, NAPTIP has established an antichild trafficking network within and
outside Nigeria to fight human trafficking. NAPTIP has adopted collaborative
strategies among countries and international agencies such as the International
Organization for Immigration, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF),
the United Nations African Institute for the Prevention of Crime and Treatment
of Offenders (UNAFRI) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) in the
areas of training, information sharing, investigation and prosecution.
Source: www.naptip.gov.ng.
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