Human Trafficking and the Law: Examining the Effectiveness of NAPTIP in Edo State

Edo State has been consistently identified as one of Nigeria's primary source states for international human trafficking, particularly involving the trafficking of young women and girls to Europe for sexual exploitation. The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), established under the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, serves as the principal institutional response to this challenge. This research examines the effectiveness of NAPTIP's enforcement and victim rehabilitation activities in Edo State, focusing specifically on the period from 2019 to 2024. A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining quantitative analysis of NAPTIP's prosecution statistics with qualitative interviews conducted with agency staff, rehabilitation counsellors, and trafficking survivors based in Benin City. Secondary data was obtained from NAPTIP annual reports, UNODC publications, and peer-reviewed studies. The findings indicate that while prosecution rates have improved in recent years, conviction outcomes remain low due to evidentiary challenges, witness intimidation, and limited inter-agency cooperation. Victim rehabilitation programmes are understaffed and underfunded relative to the scale of need. The research recommends legislative amendments to strengthen witness protection provisions, increased budgetary allocation for rehabilitation infrastructure, and sustained community sensitisation campaigns in high-risk communities across Edo State. This study provides a timely empirical assessment of anti-trafficking law enforcement in South South Nigeria. Keywords: human trafficking, NAPTIP, Edo State, victim rehabilitation, anti-trafficking law.