Hundreds of Nigerians are trafficked into the UK

British anti-slavery commissioner Kevin Hyland reported on Wednesday an increase in human trafficking into the country, with the majority of victims arriving from Nigeria.

Hyland also pointed out that many of them are attracted into Britain with false promises and then stripped of their identity documents and forced into domestic servitude and sexual exploitation, while many children are obliged to engage in pickpocketing, shoplifting and begging.

“The fact that there is a demand for this kind of exploitation in the United Kingdom really concerns me, that there are people who will want to buy sex, will want to exploit, will want to have children as what are current-day slaves, so that is a really serious problem,” Hyland added during an interview in BBC4's Today programme.

The anti-slavery commissioner called for urgent international action to stem the situation, adding that efforts to succesfully fight against human traffickers would need to increasingly start in Nigeria.

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This is not about lack of resources but about using them effectively

“This is a new idea – Europol, Interpol, National Crime Agency, all must work together. It’s up to me to oversee this. This is not about lack of resources but about using them effectively,” he added.

The UK Home Office said in December 2014 that there were between 10,000 and 13,000 potential victims of slavery in Britain, from which 2,000 were referred to the authorities, including 244 Nigerians, representing a 31% rise from the previous year.

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