The United States has added Nigeria to its Child Soldiers Prevention Act blacklist. Starting October 1, 2026, this designation could trigger restrictions on foreign military financing, defense cooperation, international military training, and arms sales, unless President Donald Trump issues a presidential waiver.
The action stems from the US State Department’s 2026 Trafficking in Persons Report, which highlighted that insurgent groups—specifically Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa—continue to recruit and exploit child soldiers within Nigerian borders.
Released on October 11 and reviewed by The PUNCH on Monday, the State Department’s latest anti-trafficking assessment evaluates Nigeria’s compliance measures covering the period from April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026.
The US included Nigeria alongside 14 other nations—including South Sudan, Iran, Russia, and Somalia—accused of recruiting or using child soldiers.
According to the report, the country’s anti-trafficking efforts failed to meet minimum compliance standards for the fifteenth consecutive year.
“Governments identified on the list are subject to restrictions, in the following fiscal year, on certain security assistance and commercial licensing of military equipment.
“The CSPA prohibits assistance to governments that are identified in the list under the following authorities: International Military Education and Training, Foreign Military Financing, Excess Defence Articles, and Peacekeeping Operations, with exceptions for some programs undertaken pursuant to the Peacekeeping Operations authority.
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Child Soldiers Prevention Act listing
The study listed ISIS-West Africa and Boko Haram as the organizations in charge of recruiting children under the Child Soldiers Prevention Act.
Its read in part, “Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa continue recruiting, abducting, and using—including through force, fraud, and coercion—child soldiers as young as 12 years old as cooks, domestic workers, spies, porters, messengers, bodyguards or guards at checkpoints, “morality police,” armed combatants, and suicide bombers in attacks in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger; these children are subjected to physical and sexual abuse and forced drug use.
“In many cases, the government coerces victims of forced marriage, including trafficking victims, to return to their Boko Haram husbands in Borno State demobilisation centres. Criminal gangs in the south recruit and use children in forced criminality, including kidnappings and robberies, and exploit them in sex trafficking. Criminal gangs in the northwest also exploit victims in forced labour in agriculture and mining,” the report added.
Additionally, it raised concern that “North Korean nationals working in Nigeria may be operating under exploitative conditions displaying indicators of forced labour.”
law enforcement and trafficking
Regarding law enforcement, the report indicated that Nigerian authorities investigated 1,341 human trafficking cases, comprising 589 instances of sex trafficking, 301 cases of forced labor, and 451 general cases involving a total of 1,367 suspects. From these actions, 94 individuals faced prosecution, culminating in 97 convictions.
The U.S. acknowledged that “officials increased collaboration with foreign governments on international trafficking investigations,” which sparked joint operations across West Africa and Southeast Asia alongside INTERPOL, while noting that “the majority of those convicted received prison sentences of at least one year.”
However, despite identifying 2,004 trafficking victims during the period—including 893 sex trafficking victims and 1,111 forced labor victims—only 675 individuals received government-sponsored assistance, reflecting a sharp decline from the 2,058 victims supported during the previous cycle.
According to the report, the closed-shelter framework operated by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) meant that “residents were not allowed freedom of movement, including children’s access to school” and that “access to some protection services was tied to victims’ willingness to cooperate with law enforcement proceedings.”
The assessment further observed that “just one dedicated NGO shelter was accessible for adult male trafficking survivors” and pointed out that adult victims who declined shelter accommodations were left without alternative support options.
When contacted for comment, Vincent Adekoye, Head of Press and Public Relations at NAPTIP, indicated that the agency would release an official response regarding the report’s conclusions in due course.
