Italian anti-mafia investigators,(DDA) have arrested 13 suspects as part of an operation against an alleged Nigerian mafia gang. The gang is accused of managing a human trafficking and prostitution ring. Police said aspiring members had to take part in brutal “initiation rites” to become part of the gang.
A recent analysis by the Pew Research Center of World Bank data found that money sent by immigrants to their home countries in sub-Saharan Africa reached a record 41 billion dollars in 2017. This represents a 10 percent jump in remittances on the previous year, the largest annual growth for any world region, according to the study.
Angela Merkel's government has declared Africa a policy focus and Germany's presence on the continent has expanded significantly. However, aid organizations say in a new report that the country has the wrong priorities.
The new prostitute protection law in Germany was meant to identify victims of human trafficking – most of them migrant women. More than 18 months after the law came into effect, thousands continue to be targeted for exploitation, and the risk for Nigerian women seems to be increasing.
The European Asylum Support Office (EASO) has published a document titled 'Country Guidance: Nigeria,' which contains an evaluation of the situation in Nigeria and key elements for granting international protection to asylum seekers from the country.
Italian authorities have arrested four Nigerian citizens accused of human trafficking and forcing underage migrant girls into prostitution, including through the use of esoteric rituals.
After an operation for voluntary returns last week, the UN agency for migration IOM reports that the total number of migrants that had voluntarily returned from Libya to their country of origin since 2015 had risen to 40,000.
Africans who flee their home countries usually have a favored destination. As the number of refugees rises, the countries in which they seek shelter remain the same. Uganda tops the list.
For most young Africans, Europe and Western countries hold the promise of a happy life. Among them was Kelechi Goodluck, a Nigerian now living in Spain. He ignorantly embarked on a dangerous journey from Nigeria to Europe through the Sahara and across the Mediterranean. Things didn’t end up as he thought. He has now written a book about his experiences called 'A Gamble With Death'.
Following an attack against a city in north-eastern Nigeria, an estimated 30,000 Nigerians have fled to Cameroon, the NGO Action Against Hunger reports.
The UN migration agency says that over 55,000 people have been displaced in around two months in the Nigerian state of Borno due to ongoing violence. Refugee camps in the area have become congested, and the IOM says it doesn't have the resources to meet the needs of those who have been displaced.
The Italian authorities have discovered an organization of Nigerian origins involved in the trafficking of minors for prostitution that made use of contacts in Libya and Italy to arrange the trips.