Abstract
This article examined the paradoxical and understudied phenomenon of female perpetration in human trafficking and child labour in Nigeria. These crimes are predominantly attributed to male criminal networks and organised syndicates, yet a growing body of evidence shows that women make up a significant and active tier of perpetrators, often occupying roles that are indispensable to trafficking supply chains rather than incidental to them. This research employed a qualitative case study design, treating Nigeria as a bounded national case and drawing on secondary sources, peer-reviewed studies, legal instruments, and institutional reports from bodies such as NAPTIP and the UNODC, to examine how women’s agency, vulnerability, and complicity converge in the exploitation of children. The article questioned the theoretical frameworks that have historically rendered women’s criminality invisible and contended for a fuller understanding of gender and agency in organised crime, one in which the attributes conventionally read as markers of feminine virtue, gentleness, compassion, and maternal instinct, can also function as instruments of exploitation. Findings indicate that this invisibility is not accidental: it is built into legal definitions, institutional practice, and scholarly convention alike, with direct implications for how Nigeria’s trafficking and child-protection frameworks are drafted and enforced.
Keywords: human trafficking, child labour, gender and crime, child protection, Nigeria.
Author name(s):
Imaobong Solomon Udo,
Faculty of Arts, Department of History and International Studies, University of Uyo, Uyo
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23156158
Copyright © [2026] The Author(s). Published by the Journal of People and Worldviews (JPW). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited.