Introduction

The subject of this enquiry is human trafficking in Nigeria, its manifestations, and how the institutional response as well as context of interventions has been in Nigeria in the period 1960-2020. This period is purposively chosen to coincide with the marking of the African year 2020 by Leiden University; specifically, it relates to the African Studies Centre of Leiden University’s theme Africa 2020, specifically Reflecting on 60 Years of Independence. The perspective that we have chosen for dealing with analysing this specific phenomenon takes due account of three main aspects – the definitional and the manifestations (forced labour, sexual exploitation, factors of internal displacements), the spatial or geographical dimensions (the domestic and international profile of Nigeria as source, transit, and destination context), and the institutional scopes of interventions (international conventions and protocols, related government departments and agencies, NGOs, international organisations) collaborating with Nigeria in relation to human trafficking.