Traditional “juju oath” and human trafficking in Nigeria : a human rights perspective

• Author: Norah Hashim Msuya
• DOI: 10.10520/EJC-17a604e01d
• Pages: 138-162
• Published date: 20 August 2019
• Record Number: dejure_v52_n2_a9
• Date: 20 August 2019

138 2019 De Jure Law Journal

Traditional “juju oath” and human

trafficking in Nigeria: A human rights

perspective

Norah Hashim Msuya

LLB LLM PhD in law

Postdoctoral Researcher, School of law University of Kwazulu Natal

SUMMARY

Human trafficking in Africa is currently on the increase due to its benefits

to the perpetrators. Despite the African Union’s (AU) functional

commitment and other African seminal initiatives, to combat trafficking,

the menace has remained un-stemmed. Noticeably, to date, women and

children are the most vulnerable groups in human trafficking across the

world. Africa remains the hub of human trafficking considering the

predominance of poverty and conflict within the continent. The prevalence

of women and children being trafficked, mainly for prostitution, has

compounded the HIV/AIDS infection rate in Africa. In Nigeria, cross-border

women and children trafficking for prostitution has been on the increase,

as traffickers adopt various means of obtaining slaves. One of the means of

recruiting women and children is to subject them to a traditional oath of

silence ceremony. This control mechanism is to silence victims and trap

them in debt bondage and it has been extremely effective in its

implementation. Victims are subjected to the oath prior to their departure

from Nigeria to ensure debt commitment and non-disclosure of the

identity of the traffickers. However, in the event of non-compliance and

violation of the oath by the victims and family members, illness and

ultimate death may suddenly occur. The efficacy of the oath as a control

mechanism is tantamount to torture as defined by international law. In

light of the forgone, this study explores the use of the Oath of Silence in

human trafficking and the vulnerabilities, which cause women and

children to become victims of human trafficking. Hitherto, the study gives

a snapshot of the gross human rights violations that occur therein. Finally,

the study proposes new ways forward in safeguarding the rights of

individuals.

1Introduction

Human trafficking refers to the process through which human beings are

placed or maintained by force in an exploitative state for economic gain

within a country and across borders.1 Women and children are trafficked

for various purposes, such as forced labour in factories, farms or private

1 Msuya “Tradition and Culture in Africa: Practices that Facilitate Trafficking

of Women and Children” 2017 Dignity: A Journal on Sexual Exploitation and

Violence 1.

How to cite: Msuya ‘Traditional “juju oath” and human trafficking in Nigeria: A human rights perspective’

2019 De Jure Law Journal 138-162

http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2225-7160/2019/v52a9

Traditional “juju oath” and human trafficking in Nigeria: A human rights perspective 139

households, forced marriages and sexual exploitation.2 Some of the

identified underlying causes of trafficking include inequalities within and

between countries, a growing demand for cheap and disempowered

labour and increasingly restrictive immigration policies.3 Violence,

discrimination and poverty are considered to be amongst the factors,

which also increase individual vulnerability to trafficking.4 Recently,

there has been a widespread acceptance of the need for a human rights-

based approach to human trafficking, as human rights form a central

core for this new understanding.5 The Global Report on Trafficking

indicates that 79 percent of women and girls are the predominant

victims of sexual exploitation form of human trafficking.6 The rate of

Nigerian women and children who have been trafficked to European

countries for prostitution has increased in the past three years.7 Nigeria

is considered the leading country in cross-border human trafficking in

Africa.8 A well-organised gang has created a highly successful trafficking

operation.9 One of the procedures they use to recruit victims of human

trafficking is to subject them to a traditional oath ceremony, which is an

extremely effective control mechanism to silence victims and trap them

in debt bondage.10 Victims are subjected to this ritual prior to leaving

Nigeria to ensure that they will pay their debt and keep silent about the

identity of the traffickers.11

Women and children who are trafficked under the influence of this

traditional oath ceremony are uniquely vulnerable to sexual violence and

forced servitude, in addition to being subjected to other conditions which

render the individual predisposed to being victimised.12 The evidence of

the use of traditional oaths has come to light since early 2000s, as it

largely fell outside the recognised push and pull factors that characterise

2 United Nations Human Rights Human Rights and Human Trafficking Fact

Sheet No 36 (2014) 1.

3 ACCORD “Nigeria: COI Compilation on Human Trafficking, Austrian Centre

for Country of Origin & Asylum Research and Documentation” 2017

ACCO RD 2.

4 International Organisation for Migration (IOM) “Analysis: Flow Monitoring

Surveys the Human Trafficking and Other Exploitative Practices Prevalence

Indication Survey: May 2016 - August 2016” 2016 IMO 2.

5 Loring, Engstrom, Tricia and Mariel “Globalization and Human Trafficking”

2017 The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare 4.

6Ezeh Human Trafficking and Prostitution Among Women and Girls of Edo

State, Nigeria Possibility of Rehabilitation through Education and Prevention

(2017) 8.

7 Damon, Swails and Laine “The Sex Trafficking Trail from Nigeria to

Europe,” CNN (2018-03-21) 2; United States Department of State 2018

Trafficking in Persons Report – Nigeria 2018 3.

8 United States Department of State 2018 Trafficking in Persons Report –

Nigeria 2018 3.

9 Ellis This Present Darkness: A History of Nigerian Organised Crime (2016) 17.

10 Europol “Joint Action to Tackle West African Human Trafficking Networks”

Europo (2014-06-12).

11 Baarda “Human Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation from Nigeria into

Western Europe: The Role of Voodoo Rituals in the Functioning of a

Criminal Network” 2016 European Journal of Criminology 259.

12 Daman CNN (2018-03-21) 3.