Obasanjo attacks 'new slave trade'

The selling of Nigerian girls is an "everyday" experience

President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria has attacked what he called the new slave trade, on the first day of a pan-African conference on human trafficking.

Every effort must be channelled towards totally purging this evil from among us

President Obasanjo

Mr Obasanjo said African women and children were being sold into prostitution and the continent had to take the initiative to halt it.

"It is disheartening to observe that several years after colonial rule, Africa still suffers what it faced in those years now," he said.

"Every effort must be channelled towards totally purging this evil from among us."

The five-day conference in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, is being attended by officials from more than 20 African countries along with representatives of non-governmental and international organisations, and women's groups.

Everyday

A Nigerian human right activist, Hajia Zainab Maina, told the BBC that particularly in Nigeria - the most populous African country - the illegal sale of women into prostitution abroad had become an everyday occurrance.

The Nigerian government is campaigning to stop the trade

Organisation of African Unity Secretary-General Salim Ahmed Salim said he was gravely concerned about what he called the "increasing manifestations of these aspects of trans-national crimes".

Many hundreds of girls from Nigeria are sold into sexual slavery in Europe each year.

Economic pressures and persistent poverty across Africa are being blamed for the resurgence in trafficking.