The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), working with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), and key border management agencies, is advancing a coordinated referral framework designed to replace the long-standing “catch-and-release” approach with a protection-centred response.
The framework seeks to ensure that victims of trafficking in persons, smuggled migrants, asylum seekers, unaccompanied and separated children, and other vulnerable persons intercepted at border points are promptly identified, protected and referred to appropriate support services through a coordinated inter-agency mechanism, rather than being treated solely as immigration offenders.
The initiative was one of the key outcomes of a specialised training on a Human Rights-Based Approach to Border Management held in Sokoto under the Protection of the Rights of Migrants through Sustainable and Integrated Border Management (PROMIS) Project.
The programme brought together the NHRC, OHCHR, the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Network Against Child Trafficking, Abuse and Labour (NACTAL), civil society organisations and community representatives.
Opening the training, the Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Dr Tony Ojukwu, said the initiative reflects Nigeria’s commitment to ensuring that effective border governance and the protection of human rights are mutually reinforcing.
He noted that, in partnership with OHCHR and other stakeholders, the Commission has over the past three years strengthened the capacity of border officials to integrate international human rights standards into daily border management operations.
According to Ojukwu, the Sokoto engagement builds on the national Training of Trainers conducted in Abuja in 2023, subsequent step-down training in Lagos, and human rights assessment missions undertaken at the Seme and Idiroko international borders.
He added that the programme will culminate in community engagement activities and a human rights assessment mission at the Illela International Border in Sokoto State.
“Effective border management and the protection of human rights are complementary, not competing.
“Every individual encountered at Nigeria’s borders, regardless of nationality or migration status, possesses inherent dignity and is entitled to constitutional and international human rights protections,” Ojukwu stated.
To strengthen coordination among institutions, participants agreed to establish a national referral mechanism, designate referral focal persons across participating agencies, develop a comprehensive referral directory, create an inter-agency communication platform, and adopt standard operating procedures for responding to victims of trafficking and other vulnerable migrants.
As part of efforts to institutionalise accountability, the NHRC introduced a Human Rights Monitoring and Investigation Checklist for use at Nigeria’s land, air and sea borders.
The tool is expected to support systematic documentation of alleged human rights violations, assess detention conditions, and strengthen monitoring of the treatment of migrants in line with national and international human rights standards.
Speaking on behalf of OHCHR, Esther Michael Sawa described the engagement as part of the organisation’s support under the PROMIS Project to strengthen community-based prevention, early identification, safe reporting and referral mechanisms for victims of trafficking in persons, smuggled migrants and other vulnerable groups.
She commended the NHRC and partner agencies for their collaboration and urged participants to ensure that all interventions are guided by the principles of human dignity, confidentiality, non-discrimination and the obligation to “do no harm.”
The stakeholders expressed confidence that the coordinated referral framework would strengthen inter-agency collaboration, improve early identification of vulnerable migrants, expand access to specialised protection services and promote a more humane, rights-based approach to border management across Nigeria.
In this article