Influence and Credibility of Nigerian Newspapers’ News Sources on the Coverage of Human Trafficking Stories in Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated the influence and credibility of news sources in Nigerian newspapers' coverage of human trafficking, employing Source Credibility Theory. The research was prompted by heightened anti-trafficking efforts from 2016 to 2018 and involved the analysis of 354 systematically and purposefully selected editions from The Guardian, Punch, ThisDay, and Vanguard. Through quantitative content analysis and both descriptive and inferential statistics, the findings revealed a substantial reliance on governmental and paramilitary sources, which constituted up to 43.8% in Vanguard and 31.4% in The Guardian; Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) were moderately represented. The analysis of source framing indicated that enforcement-related narratives were predominant in Punch, where 66.7% of articles in 2016 focused on enforcement. In contrast, ThisDay primarily framed government sources within response contexts, while NGOs were associated with enforcement and human-centered narratives. Court personnel notably influenced legal frames, accounting for approximately 18.8% in Punch in 2018. The application of the Kruskal-Wallis test confirmed significant variations in source usage across the newspapers. These findings underscore the media's reliance on institutional voices, which resultantly shapes narrative framing and public perception of anti-trafficking policies. In conclusion, the coverage of human trafficking in Nigerian newspapers necessitates a more diverse and credible array of sources to enrich policy-driven narratives. Therefore, the Nigerian media should prioritise ethical and diverse sourcing, cultivate partnerships, and enhance data access to bolster the credibility of anti-trafficking reporting.

Keywords: Human trafficking, source credibility, media coverage, anti-trafficking policy, Nigerian newspapers,