Nigeria: Organised Crime

(asked on 10th November 2020) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Nigeria: Countering Organised Crime and Corruption programme in reducing cocaine trafficking and organised crime in Nigeria; and what assessment they have made of Nigeria remaining in the top five source countries for victims of modern slavery and human trafficking to the UK.


Answered by
Baroness Sugg Portrait
Baroness Sugg
This question was answered on 18th November 2020

The Countering Organised Crime and Corruption programme in Nigeria, led by the National Crime Agency, provides mentoring and capacity-building for units of the Nigerian Police Force to improve border security and anti-kidnap capacity and respond to organised crime groups in Nigeria. The includes mentoring to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency on countering narcotics trafficking. This has helped lead to the seizure of 101 kilos of cocaine by the Nigerian authorities in the past three years from Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos.

The Government condemns all incidents of modern slavery. In 2017, at the UN General Assembly, the then Prime Minister was joined by other world leaders to launch the Call to Action to End Forced Labour, Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking. Since then, the Government has remained focused on implementing the Call to Action and encouraging member states to devise national action plans and deliver on their own commitments. Nigeria is no longer in the top 5 source countries for victims of modern slavery and human trafficking to the UK, and was ranked 9th in 2019 with 259 individuals referred to the UK National Referral Mechanism. Tackling modern slavery in countries in which we see high numbers trafficked to the UK, including Nigeria, remains a priority. To help tackle the issue, at the UN General Assembly in 2018, the UK co-hosted a modern slavery event with countries including Nigeria. The event incorporated private sector participants who emphasised the critical role of businesses in eliminating modern slavery from supply chains. We run the Stamping Out Slavery in Nigeria programme, which aims to strengthen victim support systems, raise awareness of the dangers of modern slavery, address the social norms that facilitate it and strengthen the coalition of actors tackling modern slavery. Additionally, through the UK's Modern Slavery Fund, we are providing £5 million to a programme in Nigeria to help stop people falling into slavery, catch offenders and support victims.

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