The Senate has ordered a comprehensive investigation into travel agencies suspected of facilitating the trafficking and exploitation of Nigerians in Libya, following the adoption of a joint committee report on the abuse of Nigerian migrants in the North African country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The report, considered at plenary on Tuesday, 27th October 2027, was presented by Sen. Anthony Yaro (APC: Gombe) on behalf of the Joint Committees on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations; Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters; Foreign Affairs; and Special Duties, arising from a motion on the urgent need to protect Nigerians from trafficking, slavery and human rights abuses in Libya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Adopting the report\u2019s recommendations, the Senate directed the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) to lead the investigation in collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigeria Immigration Service, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The agencies are to interrogate the directors, officers and agents of the identified travel agencies, with the inquiry covering recruitment networks, financial transactions and travel arrangements linked to the trafficking and exploitation of Nigerians abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Senate further urged a review and stronger enforcement of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015 and the Child Rights Act, 2003, and called for increased funding for NAPTIP and other relevant agencies to support investigations, prosecutions and victim assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On victim support, the Senate resolved that the Federal Government should establish a National Reintegration and Protection Programme for returning victims and vulnerable Nigerians, to be coordinated by the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons in collaboration with NAPTIP. It also urged the Federal Government to intensify diplomatic engagement with Libya through bilateral and multilateral channels, both to combat trafficking and to promote safe and legal migration pathways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, theconsideration of the report prompted a wider debate on domestic security, with senators calling for stricter tenancy laws requiring landlords to verify the identities of their tenants, including through the National Identification Number, and proposing legislation to regulate short-let apartments on the ground that unverified rentals could enable criminals to avoid detection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Senate President Godswill Akpabio (APC: Akwa Ibom) said landlords who rent to unidentified persons \u201ccould inadvertently provide cover for criminal activities<\/em>,\u201d and proposed a \u201cKnow-Your-Tenant\u201d<\/em> policy that would hold landlords accountable for tenant information. He called for tougher deterrent measures, citing the anti-kidnapping legislation he signed as Governor of Akwa Ibom State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sen. Aminu Tambuwal (ADC:Sokoto) proposed tenant registration, rent control, security checks and proof of landlord ownership, and urged the National Assembly to encourage state legislatures to adopt similar measures. Sen. Babangida Hussaini (APC: Jigawa) pointed to Lagos State\u2019s existing tenancy law as a possible model, while Sen. Adams Oshiomhole (APC:Edo) emphasised the organised and international features of trafficking and the need to address demand in destination countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sen. Neda Imasuen (APC: Edo) struck a dissenting note, arguing that Nigeria\u2019s difficulty lies not in a shortage of legislation but in the failure to enforce the laws already on the statute books.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Senate has ordered a comprehensive investigation into travel agencies suspected of facilitating the trafficking and exploitation of Nigerians in Libya, following the adoption of a joint committee report on the abuse of Nigerian migrants in the North African country. The report, considered at plenary on Tuesday, 27th October 2027, was presented by Sen. Anthony […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23871,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"author_meta":{"display_name":"PLAC","author_link":"https:\/\/placng.org\/i\/author\/olumide-adebayo\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/placng.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Nigerian-Travellers-Bound-for-Tripoli-300x169.png","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["News<\/a>"],"unlinked":["News<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 57 minutes ago","modified":"Updated 57 minutes ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on October 27, 2026","modified":"Updated on October 27, 2026"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on October 27, 2026 5:23 pm","modified":"Updated on October 27, 2026 5:23 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"Senate Orders Probe of Travel Agencies Over Trafficking of Nigerians to Libya","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/placng.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/placng.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/placng.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placng.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placng.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23870"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/placng.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23870\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23872,"href":"https:\/\/placng.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23870\/revisions\/23872"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placng.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/placng.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placng.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placng.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}