List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor

There are reports that children, mostly boys ages 4-17, are forced to quarry granite in Nigeria. Some children are abducted and trafficked from within Nigeria and from Benin to work in granite quarries and mines in the Federal Capital Territory, as well as the states of Ebonyi, Enugu, Ogun, Oyo, and Osun. Reports from the United Nations (UN) and media indicate that between 5,000 and 6,000 children from Benin alone were forced to work in the granite quarries; multiple government rescue operations identified between 50 and 200 children engaged in this work at a time. The children are forced to work up to 16 hours a day, even when they are sick. Many are forced to work under threat of physical violence. Children are often forced to sleep outside and are denied food. Reports indicate that children frequently die while working, having been forced to work under extreme conditions.

There are reports that children, mostly boys as young as age four, are forced to excavate and process gravel in Nigeria. According to reports from the media and government raids, 5,000 children from Nigeria and Benin are working in forced gravel production in Nigeria. The children are trafficked from Benin and forced to work, on average for a total of six years, in gravel pits in the Ogun, Osun, and Oyo states. An NGO study revealed that hundreds of children had been trafficked from Zou province in Benin to work in gravel production; other reports have found that hundreds of children have been rescued from this forced labor and returned to other areas in Benin. These children are forced to work excessive hours and to sleep in the bush near the pits. They are threatened with physical violence and tortured by the work gang leaders, particularly if they fail to meet their daily work quotas. The children are forced to work under extreme, sometimes fatal, conditions.

There are reports that children as young as age 8 mine gold in Nigeria. This practice is especially common in Zamfara state, which has significant gold deposits. Media outlets report hundreds of children work in artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) throughout Nigeria, causing them to abandon school. ASGM involves physically demanding work due to the un-mechanized nature and often many occupational safety and health risks. Children use their bare hands and tools to dig for gold in tunnels hundreds of meters below ground, without any protective equipment. Children face additional health risks during the processing stage when they handle mercury, a highly toxic substance, using it to extract gold from ore. Crushing ore to extract gold exposes children to lead-contaminated dust. This exposure can lead to acute lead poisoning and in May 2015 the Government announced the deaths of 28 children from lead poisoning as a result of the illegal mining of gold in Nigeria.

There are reports that children are forced to produce cocoa in Nigeria. The ILO, media pieces, and an academic report indicate that children are trafficked across Nigeria and from Burkina Faso by intermediaries and recruiters to produce cocoa. Children from Cross River and Akwa Ibom states in southeastern Nigeria are particularly vulnerable. Some children are sold by their parents to recruiters. The recruiters are paid for their recruitment of the children; many children receive no pay for their work. Some children are forced to work long hours, including during the hottest hours of the day, leaving them at substantial risk for heat-related illness. The children are forced to perform dangerous tasks, such as using sharp tools, carrying heavy loads, and handling pesticides, without protective equipment.