Senate moves to make landlords verify tenants in anti-trafficking push
- The Senate wants landlords to verify tenants' identities, including through NIN, to help security agencies track criminals.
- It has asked NAPTIP and other agencies to investigate travel agencies suspected of trafficking Nigerians, especially in Libya.
- Lawmakers also want short-let apartments regulated and more funding for anti-trafficking work and victim support.
The Senate has called for tougher tenancy rules that would require landlords to confirm who their tenants are, including through the National Identification Number (NIN), as part of efforts to fight human trafficking, kidnapping and other crimes.
The resolutions followed the adoption of a joint committee report on protecting Nigerians from trafficking, slavery and human rights abuses in Libya. The report came from the Senate Committees on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations; Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters; Foreign Affairs; and Special Duties.
Senator Anthony Yaro (Gombe South), who presented the report, said the committees consulted stakeholders and looked at an earlier motion on the trafficking of Nigerians in Libya.
Travel agencies in the spotlight
The Senate asked the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) to work with the police, the Nigeria Immigration Service, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to investigate travel agencies suspected of links to trafficking and exploitation.
According to the lawmakers, the probe should look at recruitment networks, financial transactions and travel arrangements that could lead to prosecutions. No agency or individual has been convicted in connection with the allegations.
The Senate also wants existing laws reviewed and better enforced, including the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015 and the Child Rights Act, 2003. It called for more funding for NAPTIP and related agencies to improve investigations, prosecutions and support for victims.
Lawmakers also proposed a National Reintegration and Protection Programme for returning victims, to be coordinated by the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons with NAPTIP. They urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to deepen engagement with Libya on intelligence sharing, border management and the return of victims.
Why it matters to ordinary Nigerians
For renters and landlords, a Know-Your-Tenant rule could mean showing ID before a flat is handed over, and landlords could be questioned when crimes happen on their property. The Senate also wants short-let apartments regulated, warning that unverified rentals can shelter criminals.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio said landlords who cannot account for their tenants could be treated as accomplices. He recalled the case of three children allegedly abducted in Akwa Ibom and moved through Aba, Katsina and Lagos before they were almost trafficked to Ghana, saying they were missing for 93 days before their rescue.
Senator Aminu Tambuwal cited Sokoto State's Rent Control and Management Commission as a model, while Senators Neda Imasuen, Babangida Hussaini, Adams Oshiomhole and Mohammed Aliero warned that laws alone will not work without enforcement, public enlightenment and jobs to reduce the pressures that push Nigerians into irregular migration.
What happens next: The resolutions are directions to agencies and a push for new legislation. It is not yet clear when a tenancy bill will come before the National Assembly or how states will respond.
