Nigerian receives award from the White House for efforts in anti-trafficking

Russia-based Oluremi Banwo Kehinde is considered a hero by the US Department of State. He worked with others in the team to produce the 2016 Trafficking In Persons Report.


According to the department, he is a tireless anti-trafficking activist in Russia who works to assist and protect Nigerian and other African victims of sex trafficking. Mr. Kehinde currently leads Help Services for Nigerians in Russia, a relief organization he created to provide protective services to
African victims of human trafficking; the group represents a substantial portion of those individuals who are recruited to Russia and forced into prostitution.

In 2015, Mr. Kehinde worked with law enforcement, religious service providers, and the international community in Moscow to provide assistance to scores of sex trafficking victims. He has personally helped repatriate victims to Nigeria. At his own expense, Mr. Kehinde provided lodging for victims, referred them for medical treatment, and coordinated efforts to secure documentation, as most
victims had lost possession of their passports during the course of their exploitation. Overall, he has helped more than 240 Nigerian women escape conditions of modern
slavery in Russia.
Despite personal threats to his life, Mr. Kehinde intervened on numerous occasions to secure the release of victims of human trafficking from criminal networks. Several international organizations, anti-trafficking NGOs, and survivors of human trafficking have lauded Mr. Kehinde’s enormous contribution to efforts to combat human trafficking in Russia.