MODERN DAY SLAVERY

ABSTRACT

In the 20th century, calls for the abolition of any form of slavery and slave trading became predominant conversation among political circles in Western Europe, this eventually led to the abolition of slavery in many nations. In 1948, a common consensus was reached via the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, declaring slavery to be illegal. However, in present day, slavery has metamorphosed into a modern social crime known as human Trafficking. Despite its social disapproval, human trafficking has thrived as thousands of victims each year, particularly women and children have been transported away from their homelands to cities within their countries or national boundaries to be exploited for optimum economic benefits. Nigeria is one of the countries majorly affected by this and reports of trafficked individuals from the country to Northern Africa, Western Europe and other parts of the world have been common news in global media. Trafficking still thrives largely in Nigeria despite government’s effort to curtail it. Based on the foregoing, this paper seeks to examine the legal and policy prohibitions to human trafficking in Nigeria in a bid to unmask challenges and offer practical and workable solutions. International legal frameworks on human trafficking in Nigeria will also be explored to ascertain the international policy options and standards Nigeria can incorporate in dealing with this social crisis.