By Kadiri Abdulrahman
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons (NAPTIP), has embarked on awareness campaign across the country to tackle rising human trafficking.
The Director-General of the agency, Mrs Julie Okah-Donli, made this disclosure in an interview on Monday in Abuja.
Okah-Donli said the agency had done well in the area of creating awareness over the years, which had yielded positive results.
“Awareness is important in the task of checking and nipping in the bud human trafficking, and the agency has done well over the years in that direction.
“A lot of Nigerians are now aware of the dangers of human trafficking, and steps to take when they see suspicious movements around them.
“People now make phone calls to the agency to volunteer information; while some are promised jobs in certain places, and can now actually call to confirm the genuineness of such promises’’.
The D-G noted that the agency had achieved so much in terms of the prosecution of offenders, and rehabilitation of victims over the years.
“Since the inception of the agency in 2003, it has rescued well over 10,000 victims, and has also trained and rehabilitated quite a number.
“We have gotten about 374 convictions of human traffickers so far, and still counting; we still have many cases in courts,’’ she said.
She explained that the agency’s efficiency had earned it confidence from Nigerians, many of whom now exhibit trust in it.
More cases of human trafficking and violence against persons are reported everyday. We get cases of violence against persons daily and we deal with them promptly.
“Nigerians are impressed with the promptness with which we respond to distress calls and address them,’’ she said.
Okah-Donli, however, assured that the agency would be more proactive in 2019 to further reduce incidents of human trafficking and violence against persons.
