Africas new Slavery Trafficking

Great article on trafficking!


The perpetrators of this current enslavement going on in the continental African nations today are the affluent indigenous Africans victimizing the less fortunate, less privileged and poverty stricken Africans.

So far, there is no widely known direct involvement of other race in the recruitment and transportation of Africans victims of human trafficking. However, information indicates that some final recipient of human trafficking victims include business owners (factories, hotels, bars and entertainment spots, plantations, etc) in the destination countries in Europe, North America, and other continents.

Profile of common perpetrators generally varies:
Affluent and not-so-affluent
Educated and illiterate.

Highly placed individuals in government and private sectors, both military, paramilitary, security, religious, civilians and businesses.

Almost anybody who could buy the law enforcement and the judiciary.
The common denominator is financial ability.

The practice is very common in the African continent and it is not hidden from public view.
Traffickers also comprise of African immigrants (some are permanent residents and naturalized citizens) who settled in the western countries to escape poverty, injustice, and insecurity in their respective countries. This presents an irony.

It appears that some continental Africans who migrated to various parts of the world have taken the practice along with them. However, it is hidden in the western countries due to good law enforcement actions.

Recently some cases have started to show up in Europe , America and other continents.
The root cause of human trafficking, as in the 14 th & 15 th century era slave trade is poverty and powerlessness.

Emerging Trend

Attention should be paid to the current trend in Africa , example Nigeria , whereby individuals seeking political office and wealth abduct children, especially boys, and virgin girls and slaughter them in various shrines for rituals - otokoto and okija shrines just to give an example.
There is also the widely reported case of headless Boy Adam in London , which the British Police had determined was a victim of human trafficking originating from Nigeria .

There is also the widely reported case of New York slavery shocker , which the U.S. authority determined was a victim of human trafficking originating from Anambra, Enugu and Abia States in Eastern Nigeria . Examples of highly educated Africans’ involvement

The traffickers are not some bunch of cultural fanatics, traditionalists or illiterates who may not be aware of the illegality of the practices. Quite on the contrary, the average trafficker is an educated (some are highly educated), who are fully aware of the consequences of their actions.
A New York based Nigerian trafficker who plead guilty to rape of his 13 years old ward in New York in 1992 was a medical doctor and child psychiatrist.

The two Nigerian-American traffickers convicted in New York in 2000 were Ph.D. (International Relations) and MSW degree holders respectively.

The two Cameroonian-American traffickers arrested in Detroit in 2000 also are lawyer and pharmacist respectively.

Two Nigerian-American couple convicted in Maryland , USA include a medical doctor and her husband.

Others include government officials – diplomats, etc.
Individuals that cover-up for the traffickers include: medical doctors, nurses, social workers, teachers, journalists, lawyers, etc.

The publisher of African Sun Times, a local African weekly in New York devoted pages of his newspaper July 12-18,1999, page 6; July 19-25, 1999, page 4; and July 26-August 1, 1999, page 14; attacking and vilifying the victim of trafficking for cooperating with Federal law enforcement. The publisher (a Nigerian who migrated to United States ) claim Ph.D. and authorship, and could be seen mingling with African Heads of States, high-ranking diplomats, and business executives. Some of the traffickers are high-ranking officials of foreign embassies and missions who are well versed in laws.

Take the fetish ritual killings by the political class in the African continent, as an example:
On August 4, 2004 , Nigerian police raided a satanic shrine at Okija town in Anambra State and discovered over 70 dead bodies and hundreds of human body parts openly displayed and at various levels of decomposition, as well as over five registers containing the names of the patrons of the shrine.

The police arrested about 40 ‘priests’ and patrons of the shrine.
A federal lawmaker and few prominent individuals made press statements and interviews accusing the state governor of patronizing the shrine and requested the police to quiz the governor regarding the dead bodies found there.
The governor retaliated by publicly admitted visiting the shrine as a client, and added that a powerful syndicate with access to the presidency including the accusing lawmaker and the brother-in-law of the President took him there at gunpoint at about 2.00 a.m. to swear oath of obedience prior to his election in 2003.

The lawmaker and his team counteracted by stating that the governor as a candidate desperate to become governor actually suggested choice of satanic shrine to take oath to seal their agreement, suggested the time to go there and drove the vehicle that took them to the shrine.
However, the governor never addressed the issue of the dead bodies.
These and other revelations on how some Nigeria politicians got into office generated uproar around the world.

December 28, 2004 : After almost four months of investigation, the Police Inspector-General stated in a press conference that forensic and pathological examination show that some of the dead bodies recovered from the Okija shrine had head injuries, which are signs that they were murdered.

March 2005: The Police concluded its investigation, granted bail to the priests and transferred the case files to the Anambra State Ministry of Justice for prosecution.
July 2005: After almost five months of studying the case files, the state’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice dropped a bombshell when he stated there would be problems prosecuting the priests because the charges preferred by the police against the priests could not support the facts uncovered by the police investigation. In other words, the case was not properly charged.

August 24, 2005 : Chief Magistrate freed the 38 surviving ones on the grounds that there was no evidence to sustain the charges against them. In other words, the case was not properly charged and that was the end of the case – Nigerian style.

Few weeks after their release, fresh death bodies reportedly littered the satanic shrine, again.
This development has raised many questions namely:

Does the legal victory of these ‘priests’ mean no Nigerian law has been violated?
Did the authority deliberately proffer improper charges to cover-up the highly connected individuals involved with satanic worship and human sacrifice in Nigeria ?
Is there some surreptitious manipulation from powerful quarters to shield the ‘priests’ from prosecution, hence concealing the identity of the highly connected individuals?
Why have the police been unable to make public the names in the registers recovered from the shrines, as promised?

Does the Chief Magistrate have the final say on this matter, or are there still other options?
Reports reaching our office indicate that the authority may have deliberately bungled the case to protect the highly connected individuals some of who are; states and federal lawmakers, states and federal government officials, as well as, private individuals with links to the states and federal governments.

Investigation reveals that secret and brutal ancient practice of ritual killing of human beings and sacrifice to seal oaths and covenants among various African countries continue unchecked till this day.

Nigeria ’s current president in recent press statements publicly announced that his nation’s police and judiciary are corrupt, however, he is handicapped in dealing with it effectively.Human trafficking chain and support network

Included in the African human trafficking chain and support network are:
The local recruiters, abductors, headhunters

The middlemen and women

The human (slave) merchants and the dealers on human parts

The custodians of satanic shrines where humans are killed for fetish ritual purposes

The businesses and individuals performing ritual killings (of human beings) in order to gain political power and economic wealth

The social authorities that acquiesced thereby supporting the practice

The institutions including religious, social clubs, community and professional organizations and associations that refuse to speak up

The end-users of the victims in households and businesses

Individuals that cover-up and mislead the authorities and law enforcement

The support network in the law enforcement and the judiciary that cover-up, refuse to investigate and deliberately mishandled the investigation and prosecution of human trafficking cases thereby aiding and abetting this horrendous crime and practice
And finally, the highest level of leadership, the political authorities, the governments that allow these atrocities to go on in their domains.
Related Articles:

1. Horror: Police find 50 bodies, 20 skulls in Anambra shrine

2. How Ngige, Uba Visited Okija Shrine

3. Ritual Killing and Pseudoscience in Nigeria

4. Body in Thames 2 years ago is linked to child trafficking

5. Maid: I Was Slave for 9 Years