Global Journal of Human-Social Science, A: Arts and Humanities, Volume 22 Issue 4

conditioned by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (WB, IMF) for debt ridden countries of Africa to bring economic restoration. However, the policy demanded for cut backs in so many social areas that can benefit the citizens such as Education, Employment, Food, Agriculture, etc (Babawale 2006; Taran and Demaret, 2006; Attoh and Okeke, 2012). In Nigeria, human trafficking is multi- dimensional, which comprises domestic (trafficking within Nigeria from rural to urban communities) and international (trafficking overseas). Nigerian women and children are taken from Nigeria to other West and Central African countries, as well as to South Africa, where they are exploited. Nigerian women and girls are subjected to sex trafficking throughout Europe, and are also recruited and transported to destinations in North Africa, the Middle East and central Asia (Badejo, 2016). Iyanda and Nwogwugwu (2016), posited that there are two different kinds of trafficking that Nigeria is notoriously known for: internal and external trafficking. Internal trafficking is in the form of domestic servitude and street begging, while external trafficking is mostly about sex trafficking and domestic labour. It is also important to note that the dynamics of the trade sometimes differs from one zone to another. For example, Edo/Delta is majorly known for sex trafficking and accounts for 95% of incidence of trafficking in Nigeria. Lagos and Ogun are known for child labour and domestic servitude while Benue and Sokoto for street begging and domestic servitude (CNN 2012, Adepoju, 2005, 2010, TIP Reports 2000-2013). Apart from the fact that, Nigeria is said to be the main supplier of child labour into different parts of the West African sub-region or across much of Africa (Adepoju 2005). There is also evidence suggesting that human trafficking in Nigeria had taken another dimension, as it has incorporated baby selling known as ‘Baby factory’ (a system which promotes child trafficking by creating room for exploiting young girls with undesirable conception) and organ harvesting (UNESCO, 2006, Salihu and Chutiyami 2016). Despite these ambiguities, the Nigerian government has not rested on its oars in combating this menace after being ranked third place in the list of human trafficking criminality after trafficking in drugs and economic fraud in the UNESCO 2006 publication. For instance, in 2012, the government collaborated with the European Union and the UNODC to promote awareness about the actuality, perils and consequences associated with irregular migration. The nationwide campaign entitled "I am Priceless", emphasized the consequences accompanying either being smuggled into other nations or being a victim of human trafficking. The slogan of the campaign "I am Priceless" was designed and aimed to communicate and reemphasize the reality of the importance, self-worth and dignity of all mankind irrespective of race, religion, ethnicity or gender, etc. It was also intended to infuse a sense of liberation and an orientation of empowerment to neutralize adverse information that the victims or potential victims of trafficking had experienced over time or as an aftermath of a trafficking experience (UNODC, 2012). The issue of human trafficking has attracted and increased media attention and thus provides a case study for researchers because of its composite nature of many crimes that are linked to migration, labour, gender and health issues, human rights and criminal justice (Sanford, Martínez & Weitzer, 2016). According to Santas (2015), the mass media are indispensable in a democratic society and their major role involves feeding the public with accurate, timely and adequate information about trends and happenings in the society. Therefore, as major stakeholders in the Nigeria project, the mass media have a crucial role to play in reporting criminal activities. Given the critical importance of news report in shedding light on societal problem, the study examined how the media covered human trafficking. a) The Problem Over the last two decades, trafficking in human beings has become an issue of concern for many international and national organizations, government and interest groups with political, social and economic consequences. As succinctly put by Nkememna (2009), human trafficking constitutes a cruel deviation from societal norms; a situation where humans are abducted for forced labour, forced prostitution, exploitations and deprivation of human right; and this crime often results in both short- and long-term physical and psychological harm to its victims. In Nigeria, the issue of human trafficking is the third most common crime despite constitutional provisions outlawing slavery and forced labour in Section 34(1) of 1999 constitution. Also, Sections 223-225 of the criminal code which provide sanctions against whoever trades in prostitution or facilitates the transport of human being within or outside Nigeria for commercial purposes (Nkememena, 2009). Due to the growing prevalence of this problem, this study seeks to explore press coverage of the issue of human trafficking in terms of their severity and complexity which could help draw the attention of both local, national and international communities to have a clear understanding of the heinous activities against humanity and therefore, create an enabling environment for sustainable development. Given the critical importance of news in shaping public attitude, this study becomes important to know the extent to which the press has reported human trafficking incidents in the news by analyzing the coverage of the three Nigerian newspapers. b) Research Questions For the purpose of this study, the following questions were formulated: Volume XXII Issue IV Version I 48 ( ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2022 © 2022 Global Journals A A Content Analysis of Newspapers’ Coverage of Human Trafficking in Nigeria Adjustment Programme, a prognosis that was