Nigerian Organized Human Trafficking Andy Desmond

Anti Trafficking Consultants

The Detective

31 years Police Service: 1981 – 2012 • Hertfordshire Constabulary • New Scotland Yard, Metropolitan

Police, London. Investigating complex serious organised crime Debriefing vulnerable victims, some with anti police attitudes.

Operation Quartzire

An investigation into the trafficking of Nigerian females into the United Kingdom for the purposes of sexual exploitation, between October 2008 to 7th July 2011.

R v Anthony HARRISON

Lessons learnt

Operation Koolvis

Court clears Nigerian people smugglers of human trafficking

The biggest case ever brought against a people-smuggling ring in the Netherlands went sour, when a court in Zwolle failed to convict a gang of Nigerian smugglers of the more serious charge of human trafficking.

A new interrogation method used by police was the main reason the case went sour. Dutch police developed its new method to persuade scared victims into giving statements To sooth their fears of magical retribution, police and prosecution brought in an African cleric, who tried to convince the women that the God would prove stronger than the heathen magic used by the smugglers. Police also introduced suspected victims to a women who had herself been a victim of human trafficking, allowing her to tell them her personal story. With this outside help, police were successful in extracting statements from some of the victims.

The judges also slammed the prosecution for not following the protocol for interrogations , thus preventing undue influencing of witnesses’ statements. The defence lawyer called the accounts of the witnesses "prefabricated statements from the prosecution's victim factory.” Another lawyer called the witnesses "alleged victims who have been coaxed into a statement by dangling a residence permit in front of them".

WHAT IS JUJU? A slang term adopted from the early Europeans for the Yoruba peoples’ religion of Ifa.

Predominantly Muslim

Predominantly Christian And animist

Nigerian Religious Distribution.

Only 8% of the Nigerian population display a high level of belief in Juju

The gods

The people of Yoruba worship a series of gods and goddesses. Here are just a few:-

Olorun The ‘Supreme Being’ divine creator. He/she is the highest of all gods, living in the highest heaven.

Olodumare The daughter of Olorun. She has seven children, who are collectively known as Orisha. The Seven children are;

Obatala – simplicityOrunmila – harmony and stabilityOshun – Mami Wata - beauty and sensuality, the water goddessOya – Ogoun- storms and hurricanes, iron, war. Shango – flamboyanceYemoya – material loveEshu – Test – disrupts, the trickster never to be trusted

Belief of Ifa

Olorun Eshu

Ifa gods • The gods shape and form your life.

• They guide all individuals down certain paths of this world.

• They map out your life, they dictate if you are rich or poor.

• They decide if you have good luck or bad.

• What ever happens in your life, it happened for a reason. It is

written by the gods.

• The spirits communicate the wishes of the gods to Man.

• Therefore be good to the spirits, and they will be good to you.

• Give them rewards.

The spirits aid communication between ‘Man’ on earth and the gods above.

Two types of spirits:- Living-dead Dead-dead

Living-dead: The spirit of those who have died. They are remembered by a living person on earth who can remember the deceased when they walked the earth. For example ; a grandparent, a parent, Aunt or uncle , a sibling.

Dead-dead The spirit of one who has died. There is no man or woman walking the face of the earth who can remember or knew this person when they were alive. Example; A great great great grandparent or relative; a person from history.

Human Trafficking Modern day slave trade.

The second most profitable form of organized crime in

the world.

How is Ifa used by organised criminals?

The Juju Contract

Oath of Obediance

The Power of Juju & witchcraft.

Why did she not run away?

The confidence in juju

The trafficker using the identity of Chester Ankomah , had opened a cash card account. The trafficker was captured on CCTV topping up the cash card in order to purchase clothes, a mobile phone and the flight ticket for victim one to travel to Madrid. The female pictured with him is Victim Annie

Do not assume what appears to be.

One of a number of Images found on Harrison’s computer of him with Rose. This one shows him standing next to her in the rear garden of 81 Albert Square, London,E15 Apart from selling her as a prostitute to local males, he had her work as a house girl as well.

Anthony Harrison, sentenced to 20 years for trafficking offences where he used Juju to silence his victims.

Removing the mask of Juju

Juju Heads

"Juju is just a myth not a reality but in practice it is not so simple." Muhammad Babandede of NAPTIP

Any Questions ?

Andy Desmond Anti Trafficking Consultants. www.Antitraffickingconsultants.co.uk