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Urgent and effective action needed for the eradication slavery and child labour in Ghana
GENEVA – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, Gulnara Shahinian, urged the Government of Ghana to consolidate the important steps it has taken with strong and sustainable implementation strategies with measurable impact on groups at risk as well as victims of slavery.
“Further progress on eradicating the various forms of modern day slavery and exploitation in Ghana can only be achieved by addressing the root causes sustaining these practices, including poverty, regional disparities and the lack of access to livelihoods, education and health,” the expert said. A human rights-based approach is essential to do this.
“During my visit, I have seen that child labour, including in its worst forms continues to thrive in some communities. Children, some as young as 4 years of age, continue to be sent to work in fishing communities where they do dangerous work, are deprived of an education and are not paid,” she noted.
Ms. Shahinian hailed the steps taken by some of these fishing communities to ban child labour in their villages and to extend their child protection work to neighboring areas. “More community awareness raising and livelihoods are needed,” she explained. Children also work in hazardous and slavery conditions in the artisan mining sector, and in the cocoa sector – though the latter has seen significant improvements.
“I had the opportunity to speak to girls engaged in survival and commercial sex in Accra and Kayayes in the market who sleep in the open in appalling conditions with very young children and are regularly exposed to rape, exploitation and abuse, the the Special Rapporteur said. “These women and girls, as well as the children who accompany them are vulnerable to become victims of trafficking, sexual exploitation, forced and bonded labour and other forms of slavery. In addition to poverty, some are fleeing from early and forced marriages.”
Domestic servitude, often involving young children is another form of contemporary slavery which is believed to be rampant and must be studied and addressed. Equally there is a need to understand better the dynamics of forced labour and other forms of slavery along the person’s life cycle and pay greater attention to the situation of adults, on which there is too little effort and information.
The independent expert noted that many of these situations of exploitation increasingly occur in the context of the large waves of internal migration from poor rural areas to urban centres. “It is critical to invest in areas of origin and to invest heavily in the management of urban development, so that poor informal settlements or slums do not become sourcing centres for all forms of slave labour and trafficking for criminals,” Ms. Shahinian stressed.
The government of Ghana has taken the important step of recognizing the existence of slavery, of adopting legislative frameworks, and putting in place a number of institutional mechanisms and programs, such as in the area of child labor, and human trafficking. They have adopted the National Plan of Action (NPA) for the Elimination of the Worst forms of Child Labor, which aims to eradicate such practices by 2015, and ratified a number of international agreements, including key human right and ILO Conventions.
“I commend the authorities for these efforts and for establishing these frameworks,” the Special Rapporteur said. “I now urge the Government, in partnership with other stakeholders, to ensure that these frameworks become genuine tools for change.”
The expert warned that “budgetary allocations from the national budget to relevant ministries, departments and programs are inadequate, as is data collection, which is necessary to inform actions and understand the magnitude of the problem.”
In her view, greater and urgent efforts are necessary to ensure that social protection programs are rationalized, purposeful, and sustainable. These must be able to effectively identify and target the most vulnerable, be sufficiently resourced, and informed by a truly participatory and bottom-up approach.
Other challenges include coordination between relevant government structures and programs, the need for greater inclusion of civil society and affected communities at every stage, and genuine decentralisation which is more representational, able to reach all communities and supported with sufficient resources.
“The importance of education was stressed by everyone I encountered on this visit,” Ms. Shahinian noted. “Communities explained how critical education was to keep children out of child labour, while mothers working in terrible condition in the streets or in markets explained their objective was to earn money to send their children to school. Effective access to basic services such as primary education, adequate housing and health continue to be a challenge for many, despite favorable legislation.”
“Using a human rights-based approach can empower all stakeholders, including Government, and affected communities to address these rights as well as other socio-economic rights from the point of view of good governance and accountability,” she underscored.
During her nine-day mission, The Special Rapporteur visited various fishing communities in the lake Volta region, a rehabilitation centre, outdoor markets and other areas in Accra. She met with Government representatives, law enforcement agencies, victims, traditional community chiefs, teachers, members of community child protection committees, and international and civil society organisations.
Ms. Shahinian will present the findings of the visit to the Human Rights Council in September 2014.
Leading economists, financial experts and industry stakeholders have described the Dangote Group’s investments as major drivers of industrialisation and economic transformation across Nigeria and Africa.
The experts cited the Group’s impact on job creation, import substitution, foreign exchange conservation and economic competitiveness.
They voiced their thoughts at the Lagos Economic Summit themed “The Real Deal: Africa’s Greatest Investment Opportunity,” where they urged governments to implement policies that strengthen local industries and accelerate economic diversification.
President and Chief Executive Officer of the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), Samaila Zubairu, commended the Dangote Group’s sustained investments across Africa, describing them as critical to unlocking the continent’s economic potential.
He noted that while recent economic reforms have improved foreign exchange stability, strengthened reserves and eased inflationary pressures, the focus must now shift to growth in industry, productivity and employment.
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Also speaking, Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Muda Yusuf, said industrialisation remains the most effective path to sustainable economic development.
He called for better alignment of trade and industrial policies, stressing that local manufacturers require strategic support to compete effectively and drive broader economic benefits.
Founder and CEO of Nairametrics, Ugodre Obi-Chukwu, said Africa’s growing population presents a significant industrial opportunity, noting that investments such as the Dangote Refinery are helping to retain capital within the continent while strengthening local production capacity.
In his keynote address, Managing Director of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Bismarck Rewane, said Nigeria is gradually transitioning from a consumption-led economy to one driven by investment and production.
He added that sustained investments in productive sectors will continue to stimulate growth, create jobs and improve living standards.
Participants at the summit also advocated stronger credit infrastructure, improved national identification systems and increased investment in skills development to enhance the productivity and global competitiveness of Africa’s growing youth population.
Photo Caption: From Left – Chief Economist, Dangote Industries Limited, Dr. Hassan Mahmud; Lady Maiden Alex-Ibru; Chairman of Occasion/Special Guest of Honour, Samaila Zubairu; Key Note Speaker Session 1, Bismarck Rewane; during the Real Deal: Africa’s Greatest Investment Opportunity, Sponsored by Dangote Industry Limited in Lagos on Thursday 3, September 2026.
Social media critic Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), has released what he described as his first piece of evidence after the Nigeria Police Force challenged him to substantiate his allegations that some police officers allegedly collaborate with kidnappers.
VDM released a video on his Instagram handle on Thursday, August 27, 2026, shortly after the police invited him to provide evidence supporting the claims he made at the 66th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Port Harcourt.
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The activist captioned the video: “My evidence number 1.”
Recalled that VDM, who was a panellist at the NBA conference on Tuesday, had alleged that some police officers manning checkpoints along major highways provide kidnappers and bandits with information about travellers.
According to him, the officers allegedly relay details about the identities and movements of travellers to criminal groups, thereby facilitating abductions for ransom.
The allegation triggered a response from the Nigeria Police Force, which denied the claim and challenged VDM to substantiate his allegations.
The police invitation came as the force sought evidence to support the serious claims made by the social media critic.
In response, VDM released the video, describing it as his “evidence number 1”, signalling that he may provide further material to support his allegations.
The development has continued to attract attention, with the controversy placing renewed focus on allegations of possible collaboration between security personnel and criminal groups involved in kidnapping and banditry.
A former Permanent Secretary of the Federal Civil Service Commission, Goke Adeboroye, has questioned how an alleged fake presidential agency was able to gain access to government facilities, budgetary provisions and office space without being detected.
Adeboroye spoke on Channels Television’s Inside Sources following the discovery of the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.
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The ICPC had said the purported agency had no legal basis and operated with forged appointment letters and other official documents.
The commission also said its alleged Director-General, Adeniyi Matthew, was never appointed by the Federal Government.
The anti-corruption agency further disclosed that its investigation into the PFIPC led to the discovery of the National Brands Development and Made in Nigeria Special Project Office, which it alleged was operating within the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation without proper authorisation.
Reacting to the development, Adeboroye described the situation as a major failure of the government’s bureaucratic system.
“The exposure of that fake presidential agency is a major lapse to say that somebody can actually come into the system, get in on the budget, get offices, and all of that,” he said.
The former permanent secretary identified weaknesses in the bureaucratic structures supporting key offices in the Presidency, including the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President and the Office of the Head of the Civil Service.
According to him, the bureaucracy in these offices should be strong enough to support the President’s policies while also ensuring that fraudulent or unlawful directives do not gain effect.
“The bureaucracy in those offices are not strong enough to be able to help the President drive the vision at the speed and with the efficiency that he wants,” Adeboroye said.
He also stressed the importance of having professional and experienced civil servants who can scrutinise directives issued by political office holders.
Adeboroye said civil servants should be able to recognise suspicious communications purportedly coming from the Presidency because they are familiar with the official channels through which presidential approvals are transmitted.
“Whether the person brings fake or whatever, you as the civil servant should be trained to be able to detect what should be a genuine communication from the State House. You work in that system,” he said.
He explained that presidential approvals usually pass through established channels involving senior government officials.
“When the President approves anything, he always minutes to about three people. He goes to the Chief of Staff, he goes to SGF, and if he has something to do with civil service, the Head of Service will have it.”
Adeboroye recalled an incident from his time as Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Interior involving a former governor who claimed to have presidential approval for a diplomatic passport.
He said the then Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Ude, cross-checked the purported approval before taking action and subsequently sought clarification on whether the former governor, who was no longer in office, should receive the diplomatic passport.
“That’s somebody using the experience of the system to ensure that you are not outplayed,” he said.
The former permanent secretary said similar verification could have been carried out in the alleged fake agency case through a simple phone call to the relevant government offices.
“So we would have expected that on a simple phone call, when I was working in the office of Ekaite, Secretary of Government, I could pick a phone, call any minister, call this, it’s just a phone call from the office of whoever to say, Chief of Staff, is this true? And that would have actually corrected it,” he said.
Meanwhile, the controversy surrounding the National Brands Development and Made in Nigeria Special Project Office has continued.
The chairman of the project office, Musa Aliyu, had alleged that the office was allocated space within the OSGF premises without presidential authorisation.
However, the National Coordinator and Executive Director of the project office, George Nwabueze, denied the allegation, insisting that the office is a project office under the OSGF and has existed for 16 years.
Nwabueze also produced an appointment letter purportedly issued by the OSGF, conveying approval of his appointment as National Coordinator/Executive Director of the Made in Nigeria Project Office.
The conflicting claims have continued to raise questions about the authorisation and status of the project office and the alleged involvement of public officials in its operations.
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