VZCZCXRO6067
RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHOS #0190/01 0740947
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 150947Z MAR 07
FM AMCONSUL LAGOS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8624
INFO RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 8448
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 1201
RUEHTRO/AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI 0012
RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID 0098
RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LAGOS 000190 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/W 
STATE FOR AF/RA 
STATE FOR INR/AA 
STATE FOR G/TIP 
STATE FOR H 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM EAID ELAB PHUM SOCI KWMN SMIG KCRM NI
 
SUBJECT: CONGRESSMAN CHRISTOPHER SMITH REVIEWS LAGOS ANTI-TIP 
EFFORTS AND THE EDO-ITALY TRAFFICKING CONNECTION 
 
REF: 05 LAGOS 1955 
 
LAGOS 00000190  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (U) Summary:  Nigeria Trafficking in Persons (TIP) experts told 
Congressman Christopher Smith during his February 22-24 visit to 
Lagos that rehabilitation of TIP victims needs more resources and 
funding.  Efforts in Lagos to work with TIP victims have been 
overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of victims.  The National Agency 
for Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and Other Related Matters 
(NAPTIP) shelter in Lagos, the center of rehabilitation efforts, is 
an edifice in dire need of repair.  End Summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
Lagos TIP Network Struggles Under Trafficking Burden 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶2. (U) At a dinner hosted by the Consul General, Congressman Smith 
met and discussed trafficking issues with Italian Consul General 
Maurizio Bungaro, National Agency for Prohibition of Traffic in 
Persons and Other Related Matters (NAPTIP) Lagos Zonal Head Godwin 
Morka, Women's Consortium of Nigeria (WOCON) Executive Director Bisi 
Olateru-Olagbegi, and Media Concern for Women and Children Director 
Princess Olufemi-Kayode.  Congressman Smith expressed interest in 
the Edo State-Italy trafficking connection.  He plans to push for 
more support for the shelter, he told the group. 
 
¶3. (U) The Italian Consul General said trafficking of Nigerians to 
Italy had become a serious problem.  At one time Nigerians traveled 
to Italy for legitimate business purposes or for holidays.  In the 
1990s, however, Nigeria experienced a series of economic and 
political crises, and the nature of travel to Italy changed. 
Instead, Nigerians began to traffic women to Italy for prostitution. 
 These women came largely from Edo State.  Italy has found it 
difficult to cope with the large influx of trafficked persons into 
the country.  The Government of Italy supports the efforts of the 
Catholic Church and nongovernmental organizations to rehabilitate 
victims. 
 
¶4. (U) NAPTIP Lagos Zonal Head Morka told the Congressman that 
NAPTIP is inadequately funded to prosecute traffickers. 
Investigators lack funds for transportation, food and lodging and as 
a result are unable to do their jobs adequately.  Morka pointed out 
that USAID had given them a vehicle but specified it could only be 
used to transport TIP victims, and not for NAPTIP officials in their 
enforcement roles.  Morka said the government has increased funding 
for NAPTIP but the budget is still inadequate to meet the need. 
 
¶5. (U) Morka also said TIP victims in Europe are often treated as 
criminals and deported as quickly as possible.  Traffickers will 
often tip off the local police to deport the girls if they escape or 
are no longer useful for prostitution. 
 
¶6. (U) WOCON Director Olagbegi told the Congressman that trafficking 
victims needed visas so they can remain in the country to which they 
were trafficked to finish their rehabilitation.  Immediate 
deportation results in victims experiencing difficulty readjusting 
to society and often return to the very life that led to them being 
trafficked in the first place.  Olagbegi is not sure why Edo State 
is such a beehive for trafficking; she suspects, however, that 
historical factors and social attitudes, compounded by economic 
hardship, are key to understanding this unfortunate fact. 
 
----------------------------- 
Visit to Lagos NAPTIP Shelter 
----------------------------- 
 
¶7. (U) NAPTIP Lagos Zone Head Godwin Morka led Congressman Smith on 
a tour of the Lagos NAPTIP shelter and training facility.  The 
shelter was initially funded by a joint USAID/Italian grant to the 
International Organization of Migration (IOM).  The Nigerian 
government donated the building, formerly used by the Secret 
Security Service (SSS).  After IOM refurbished and dedicated the 
building in 2004, IOM transferred management of the shelter to 
NAPTIP. 
 
¶8. (U) Morka said that since 2004, 532 TIP victims have passed 
through the shelter.  Shelter residents stay from two weeks to six 
months, depending on how quickly NAPTIP can obtain their testimony 
against their traffickers and repatriate the girls home.  The 
trafficked girls often come from neighboring Benin, Togo, and other 
ECOWAS countries.  The training facility includes hairdressing and 
sewing machines.  Often the trafficked girls have experience as 
 
LAGOS 00000190  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
hairdressers and will do each other's hair.  To aid the victims 
psychologically, the shelter has ten counselors trained by NAPTIP. 
 
 
¶9. (U) Morka pointed out the shelter lacked a yard where residents 
can be outside; shelter residents are confined inside 24 hours a 
day.  Many of the TIP victims arrive with STDs and some are HIV 
positive, requiring NAPTIP to provide additional health care. 
 
¶10.  (U) Although only three years old, the facility had poor wiring 
and plumbing.  Morka said that last year some shelter residents had 
badly damaged beds and doors, which NAPTIP has been unable to 
replace.  The shelter itself needs complete rewiring and plumbing, 
but NAPTIP lacks the funds for this job, according to Morka.  Last 
year the shelter experienced an electrical fire caused by faulty 
wiring.  IOM promised to cover the loss with insurance proceeds but 
did not do so.  The shelter receives funding but relies on UNICEF to 
provide daily needs such as food and training equipment.  At the end 
of the visit, the Congressman thanked Morka for his efforts with the 
shelter and asked him to provide a list of the shelter's needs and 
forward the request to his office. 
 
¶11. (U) Congressman Smith cleared this cable. 
 
BROWNE