The National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has convicted a total of 624 human trafficking offenders out of 9278 arrested since inception.
NAPTIP’s Director, Training and Manpower Development, Mr Arinze Orakwue, disclosed this at a stakeholders’ consultation workshop on countering trafficking in persons in Anambra State organized by the agency in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development USAID SCALE project.
The workshop, organized in response to the recent spike in incidents of trafficking in persons across the state, was targeted at harvesting ideas from participants on how best to tackle the problem.
While decrying Anambra situation where human trafficking is currently assuming a more disturbing dimension, Orakwue also announced that NAPTIP rescued 21181 victims, while 11,485 cases of trafficking in persons were recorded within the period under review.
Commissioner for Women Affairs, Ify Obinabo, argued that parenting is at the centre of all mitigating efforts even as she called on religious leaders, traditional rulers and presidents-general of town unions to complement government in the fight against trafficking in persons.
Earlier, Social Protection Advisor, Strengthening Civic Advocacy and Local Engagement (SCALE) Project, Mr Eric Umoru, lamented steady increase in incidents of human trafficking in the zone, which he linked to success in the fight against the crime in South-South region of the country.
The National President, Network Against Child Trafficking, Abuse and Labour (NACTAL), Abdulganiyu Abubakar called on parents to be vigilant and ensure proper education of their children, just as he called for government increased engagement with Civil Societies and media for grassroots advocacy.
NAPTIP Commander in Anambra State, Mrs Ibadin Judith-chukwu, noted that while prostitution is not a punishable offence in Nigeria, using under-aged children for such with exploitative intents is criminal.
All the participants agreed to the need to raise the tempo on sensitization and public awareness to increase understanding among residents of the state on the antics of the traffickers and the negative impacts of the crime on the society.
