Abstract
This study examines the experiences of Nigerian migrants within Libya’s migration corridor through the analytical lens of state failure and migrant vulnerability. It investigates how Libya’s post-2011 political collapse has contributed to the proliferation of human trafficking networks, irregular detention systems, and widespread human rights abuses against migrants transiting through its territory. The study is anchored on Robert Rotberg’s State Failure Theory and employs qualitative content analysis of secondary sources, including scholarly literature, reports from international organizations, and credible media publications. Findings reveal that Libya’s fragmentation and breakdown of central authority have created a governance vacuum in which armed militias and criminal networks operate with relative impunity. This situation exposes Nigerian migrants to severe forms of exploitation, including forced labour, extortion, detention, sexual violence, and modern slavery. The study further shows that while structural conditions in Nigeria such as unemployment, insecurity, and poverty drive irregular migration, the transit environment in Libya significantly intensifies migrant vulnerability and human suffering. The study concludes that Nigerian migrants’ experiences in Libya are not isolated incidents but outcomes of a broader system of state failure, transnational criminality, and weak migration governance. It recommends strengthened international cooperation, improved migration management frameworks, and urgent restoration of rule of law in Libya to mitigate the humanitarian crisis affecting migrants along the Central Mediterranean route.