Trafficking of Children is a form of Human Trafficking. It will therefore be necessary to define certain terms. “Traffic” is simply put by advanced Learners dictionary amongst its other various meanings as the movement of people or goods from one place to another or” to buy and sell”. Applying this definition to Human beings would mean the” buying and selling of Human beings”. The United Nations Protocol to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children, supplementing the United Nations Conversation Against Transnational Organized Crime defines Trafficking as: “The recruitment transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons by means of treat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of giving or receiving of payment or benefit to achieve the consent of a person having control of another person for the purpose of exploitation”.
The 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child defines Child as every human being below the age of 18 years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier. When a child is involved in the above definition, then it is Child Trafficking.
Though statistics regarding the magnitude of Child Trafficking are difficult to obtain, the International Labor Organization, estimates that 1.2million children are trafficked each year. Every year, 300,000 children are taken from all around the world and sold by human traffickers as slaves. The Trafficking of Children has been internationally recognized as a serious Crime that exists in every region of the world and which often has human right implications. As at 2019, NAPTIP recorded that about 8,000,000 Nigerian children are engaged in exploitative Child labor.

TYPES OF CHILD TRAFFICKING
• Forced Labor (Child labor)
• Sexual exploitation (commercial sexual exploitation of children)
• Children in armed forced (military use of children)
• Children in drug trade
• Adoption
• Child begging (Forced child beggars in Nigeria)
• Child exchange
• Self-motivated cash.

PURPOSE OF CHILD TRAFFICKING
Children/humans are trafficked usually for the following purposes:
For sex work, marriage, begging, forced labor, rituals, debt bondage and for organ transplantation.
The recruitment process of children Trafficking is very deceitful as the traffickers do not show the victims the color of the trafficking. Most of them are lured by false promises, some are escorted by relatives while some are trapped out of sheer greed knowing fully well the implications of their actions.

CONTROL MECHANISMS USED BY TRAFFICKERS
Intimidation and threat, lies and reception, money, Unsafe, unpredictable and uncontrollable event, emotional abuse, emotional manipulation, social isolation and Identity control.

The ultimate goal is to completely dominate, own and control the victim or make it difficult to distinguish between his/her true self and the identity created through exploitation. Traffickers may also father Children of victims and then take them away to be cared for by the traffickers’ family so that she’s bond to him and obeys to prevent harm to the baby.
THE PREVALENCE OF CHILDREN TRAFFICKING IN NIGERIA:
In July 2018, Global Slavery Index indicate that there are 40.3 million victims of modern slavery worldwide. 71 percent of whom are Women and girls while 25percent are children. In January 2019, UNODC reported the number of children in slavery at almost 1/3 of all global victim. Trafficking children is an exploitative act that jeopardizes Child survival. Of recent, the phenomenon of baby factory becomes very common in some parts of the country, leading to Young girls mobilised into the Trafficking cycle and giving birth to children for sale in black market. Trafficking occurs either locally within the country or internationally through various routes across all the geo-political zones of Nigeria.

CAUSES OF CHILDREN TRAFFICKING IN NIGERIA
Poverty, Quest for cheap prostitutes, Decay in public institution, Rural-urban migration, Poor governance, Endemic corruption, Change in family size, Low level of occupation, Poor economic status of families, Lack of alternative economic opportunities, the porosity of our borders, Old traditional norms that creates inequality among children, Devaluation of naira and Change in the trend of household responsibilities to women in some cultures

KEY INDICATORS FOR IDENTIFYING TRAFFICKED CHILDREN
• Young person’s travelling in a group, usually led by someone older who might have some role in the Trafficking chain
• Inconsistent story as to the reason why each individual is traveling
• Very similar stories given by different persons travelling in a group
• Shabby dressing
• A bag packed with food stuffs and emergency water storage
• Nervousness on the parts of intercepted persons
• An unsure story of who to meet at destination
• Possession of false travel papers

TRAFFICKED CHILDREN MAY SHOW THE FOLLOWING SIGNS IN WORK SITUATIONS
Work against their will, Work under slave- like conditions, Unable to leave their work environment at will, Show signs of controlled movement and Been subjected to violence or threat of violence against themselves etc.

PROPOSED SOLUTIONS TO CHILD TRAFFICKING
• Broad protection
• Prevention
• Strengthening law enforcement
• Education
• Awareness campaign etc.

CONCLUSION
Children trafficking is a clandestine crime which needs a concerted effort to fight and get rid of in our society. It is the responsibility of Law enforcement personal at source or destination to combat this crime.

Facilitated by Mrs. Blessing B. Olarenwaju Esq, a seasoned prosecutor and mediator of Ondo State Ministry of Justice, Akure. Ondo State