As a major country of origin, transit and destination, Nigeria’s mixed migration dynamics are complex and often impact the migration narrative for the entire West African Region. The UNODC 2022 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons highlights that Nigerians represent the highest number of identified victims of trafficking in West Africa.
Notwithstanding, the dearth of adequate data-driven migration governance structures have further aggravated the migration complexities, as the gap between policy and reality continues to deepen. In the absence of data-driven policies based on migrant needs and strong institutional frameworks, migrants are subjected to heightened risks, while community resilience subsides in migration prone communities.
The importance of fact-based and accurate migration data cannot be overemphasized. The ability to accurately measure data relating to migration is critical for making, evaluating, and monitoring policy decisions associated with a wide range of migration-related topics.
Against this background, UNODC is implementing the project, Strengthening Fact-Based and Data-Driven Migration Governance and Management in Nigeria funded by the Migration Multi-Partner Trust Fund. The project, which is implemented jointly with IOM, aims to strengthen fact-based and data-driven migration governance in Nigeria, through enhanced institutional and operational capacity in migration data management.
As policy-relevant research is critical for the formulation and implementation of policies, UNODC’s intervention serves as a basis for enhancing the skills and capacities of the relevant agencies to conduct policy-relevant research on irregular migration and use its findings to inform policy and practice. Research and data also provide sufficient knowledge and understanding of trafficking in persons/ smuggling of migrants (TiP/SoM), which is key for the Federal Government of Nigeria and its specialized agencies (National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and the Nigerian Immigration Service), to conduct intelligence-led investigations, and facilitate effective preventative measures for TiP/SoM and related abuses and crimes.
More specifically, the project provides tailored training on evidenced research tools and methodologies for conducting studies on irregular migration, and aims to create an observatory on TiP, with the purpose of providing a an authoritative, evidence-based data analysis to feed into national migration management and governance frameworks.
In line with broader objectives, the project serves to protect the rights of the most vulnerable and promote gender equality and general human rights, which is critical to Nigeria’s transformation and development agenda.