Making sense of the relationship between trafficking in persons, human smuggling, and organized crime: the case of Nigeria

Trade in human beings, and Nigeria's role in it, is a contested area. This article first sets out to provide an integrated picture, from the varied academic and policy output, of human trafficking and smuggling, focused on a market picture that is able to incorporate both genders and diverse forms of exploitation, i.e., forced labour, prostitution and domestic servitude. It then outlines how organised crime operates under this model in the specific Nigerian context. Finally, the article reports the main results of a small exploratory study carried out with Nigerian law enforcement officers who work on the front line in tackling trafficking and smuggling.