Burkina Faso has pledged to strengthen judicial cooperation with Nigeria to recover court-awarded compensation for Nigerian human trafficking victims and prosecute cross-border criminal networks.
The commitment followed a meeting between Burkina Faso’s Minister of Justice, Maître Bayala, and Nigeria’s Ambassador to Burkina Faso, Syndoph Endoni, in Ouagadougou.
According to a statement issued by Nigeria’s Mission in Ouagadougou on Thursday, discussions focused on human trafficking, terrorism and other transnational crimes affecting security and justice in both countries.
Bayala assured the Nigerian envoy of his government’s readiness to improve judicial cooperation, particularly in investigating offences, enforcing court judgments and protecting trafficking victims.
He identified the exchange of judicial information, monitoring of appeals and stronger enforcement mechanisms as key areas of bilateral collaboration.
The minister also pledged to support efforts to trace and recover assets belonging to convicted traffickers to facilitate payment of court-ordered compensation to victims.
The commitment is expected to benefit Nigerian trafficking survivors who were repatriated from Burkina Faso without receiving compensation previously awarded to them by Burkinabè courts.
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During the meeting, Endoni raised the unresolved cases and urged the Burkinabè authorities to review the judgments and ensure that the victims received their lawful entitlements.
He stressed that repatriating trafficking victims should not prevent the prosecution of offenders or the enforcement of compensation orders.
The ambassador also called for stronger judicial arrangements to enable both countries to pursue traffickers across borders and ensure accountability, regardless of the victims’ locations.
Endoni commended Bayala and the Burkinabè Ministry of Justice for their commitment to justice and reaffirmed Nigeria’s readiness to strengthen judicial coordination, information sharing and enforcement mechanisms.
Bayala said the cooperation would help address enforcement gaps exploited by criminal networks operating across national borders, particularly those involving concealed assets and attempts to evade judicial processes.
He added that the partnership could also address regional security challenges, including porous borders, illicit movement of persons and goods, and increasingly sophisticated transnational criminal activities.
The meeting forms part of Nigeria’s efforts to sustain security and diplomatic cooperation with Burkina Faso following the country’s withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS.
Burkina Faso formally withdrew from ECOWAS alongside Mali and Niger in January 2025, with the three countries subsequently pursuing regional cooperation through the Alliance of Sahel States.
NAN
