Network Against Child Trafficking, Abuse and Labour (NACTAL), a coalition of Civil Society Oganisations, has advocated for more interventions on behalf of victims of trafficking.
President of NACTAL, Mr Abdulganiyu Abubakar, made the call on Monday, in Abuja, at a news conference to commemorate the 2021 European Union anti trafficking day, usually observed on Oct. 18.
Abubakar said that all interventions for victims of human trafficking must be victims-centered and must be enshrined in the national policy on protection and assistance to trafficked persons in Nigeria 2008 edition.
He added that the intervention must also be documented in the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) 2015 document for the protection and assistance to trafficked persons in Nigeria.
“NACTAL is a member of the coordination committee of the NRM as stated in the amended TIPPLEA Act of 2005.
“We seek NAPTIP’s collaboration in this regard, being the government coordinating agency, to carry other stakeholders along in the task of rehabilitation.
“This is not to say that we are not aware of NAPTIP’s collaboration with some member organisations of NACTAL, we solicit for wider reach to accommodate all,” he said.
He also called on government to revisit the statutory mandate of NAPTIP, so that more members of civil society organisations would be part of NAPTIP’s board, instead of only two members of CSOs.
According to him, if this was done, it would provide more impetus to the management of Trafficking In Persons (TIP) in Nigeria.
He also solicited for a concerted coordination of TIP/SOM in Nigeria, as this would help in the area of monitoring and evaluation of activities and interventions to validate funding and impact assessment.
Abdulganiyu further implored all CSOs, as well as networks, to speak with one voice and language in the fight against trafficking in persons, saying that this would help in the various interventions and programmes.
He called on CSOs to stand as independent entities for the good of the served communities, stressing that the way to bridge the gaps between the government and the governed should be their concern.
He commended the EU for its interventions in Nigeria’s fight against human trafficking as a project worthy of note. (NAN)
