The Role of Rituals in Human Trafficking of Nigerians: A Tool of Enslavement, But Also Escape
In 2018, the Oba (King) of Benin city in Edo state (Nigeria), a spiritual and traditional leader with significant authority, made a public, spiritual declaration on Nigerian human traffickers (especially those originating from Edo state) and proclaimed that victims of trafficking who were bound by o...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publishing
2023-11-01
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| Series: | SAGE Open |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440231210474 |
| _version_ | 1797498957724647424 |
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| author | Sarah Adeyinka Ine Lietaert Ilse Derluyn |
| author_facet | Sarah Adeyinka Ine Lietaert Ilse Derluyn |
| author_sort | Sarah Adeyinka |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In 2018, the Oba (King) of Benin city in Edo state (Nigeria), a spiritual and traditional leader with significant authority, made a public, spiritual declaration on Nigerian human traffickers (especially those originating from Edo state) and proclaimed that victims of trafficking who were bound by oaths taken during the juju rituals were free. The Nigerian trafficking network relies mainly on juju as a control mechanism to keep the victims bound and subservient to them. Based on repeated in-depth interviews with young Nigerian women and teenager teenage victims of human trafficking for sexual exploitation, this article discusses how juju is used by the trafficking networks to keep their victims exploited, enslaved and indebted. Concurrently, the participants’ narratives also illustrate the important impact of the declaration of the Oba for some women and teenagers in their process to leave the trafficking networks. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:40:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a5677b3c6b6f4ce9b1e9dd2ce0c0eb99 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2158-2440 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:40:42Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | SAGE Open |
| spelling | doaj.art-a5677b3c6b6f4ce9b1e9dd2ce0c0eb992023-11-23T11:33:41ZengSAGE PublishingSAGE Open2158-24402023-11-011310.1177/21582440231210474The Role of Rituals in Human Trafficking of Nigerians: A Tool of Enslavement, But Also EscapeSarah Adeyinka0Ine Lietaert1Ilse Derluyn2Ghent University, GentGhent University, GentGhent University, GentIn 2018, the Oba (King) of Benin city in Edo state (Nigeria), a spiritual and traditional leader with significant authority, made a public, spiritual declaration on Nigerian human traffickers (especially those originating from Edo state) and proclaimed that victims of trafficking who were bound by oaths taken during the juju rituals were free. The Nigerian trafficking network relies mainly on juju as a control mechanism to keep the victims bound and subservient to them. Based on repeated in-depth interviews with young Nigerian women and teenager teenage victims of human trafficking for sexual exploitation, this article discusses how juju is used by the trafficking networks to keep their victims exploited, enslaved and indebted. Concurrently, the participants’ narratives also illustrate the important impact of the declaration of the Oba for some women and teenagers in their process to leave the trafficking networks.https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440231210474 |
| spellingShingle | Sarah Adeyinka Ine Lietaert Ilse Derluyn The Role of Rituals in Human Trafficking of Nigerians: A Tool of Enslavement, But Also Escape SAGE Open |
| title | The Role of Rituals in Human Trafficking of Nigerians: A Tool of Enslavement, But Also Escape |
| title_full | The Role of Rituals in Human Trafficking of Nigerians: A Tool of Enslavement, But Also Escape |
| title_fullStr | The Role of Rituals in Human Trafficking of Nigerians: A Tool of Enslavement, But Also Escape |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Role of Rituals in Human Trafficking of Nigerians: A Tool of Enslavement, But Also Escape |
| title_short | The Role of Rituals in Human Trafficking of Nigerians: A Tool of Enslavement, But Also Escape |
| title_sort | role of rituals in human trafficking of nigerians a tool of enslavement but also escape |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440231210474 |
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