JOE EFFIONG, UYO
A total.of 132 human trafficking victims aged between 05 and 34 years have been rescued by the Uyo zonal command of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP,), Uyo Zonal command, in Akwa Ibom state in the last eight months.
NAPTIP Director General, Dame Julie Okah-Donli, who disclosed this on Thursday, in Uyo, while fielding questions from newmen at a media briefing during her official visit to the state.
explained that out of the number 40 were rescued from sex exploitation, 28 from baby sellers, 23 from labour exploitation while the rest were for other sundry exploitation issues, adding that 40% of the victims were from Oron Local government of the state.
“Since 2020, NAPTIP in Akwa Ibom state has rescued 132 human trafficking victims. 40 of them were rescued from sex exploitation, 28 were from baby sellers,23 from labour exploitation while the remaining were for other sundry exploitation issues.
“Those rescued range from 05-34 years. The record shows 40% of them were from Oron Local government becauses of the strategic trade Location as gateway to the Atlantic ocean” she said
The DG explained that her mission in the state, is to inagurate Akwa Ibom state Task Force on human Trafficking and also meet with stakesholders including traditional rulers, faith based Organisations, the civil society as well as non-state actors in the fight against human trafficking.
According to her the Task Force is a component of the agency’s strategic Thrust aimed at expanding it frontiers and enhance roburst partnership in the fight against human trafficking in the country
She further explained that task force is premised on the need to enhance State and non-State multi sectoral response towards combating human trafficking in Nigeria and is aimed at enhancing comprehensive prevention and coordinated legal and other services for trafficked victims through capacity building , technical assistance and institutional development.
“The overall objective of the task force is the coordination and reactivation of technical inter-agency cooperation meetings with key stakeholders including donors, developement partners, law enforcement agencies, MDAs and NGOs to enhance the capacities of state and non state actors as well as multi sectoral response towards improving partnerships.
“These partnerships are aimed at the prevention of human trafficking, protection of victims of human trafficking, offer access to justice for victims of trafficking, prosecution of traffickers and to enhance the process of successful restoration of victims of trafficking to the state of physical, psychological, social, vocational and economic well being.” the DG said
The Project Officer, Counter Trafficking and Mixed Migration in the International Organisation for Migration, Bertha Ngurulu, said the organisation has rescued more than 17,000 Nigerians involved in illegal migration in Libya, Mali and other parts of the world since 2017.
Ngurulu said that over 6,771 of them have so far been rehabilitated with 45 of them from Akwa Ibom while there has been requests from different parts of the Middle East for the reparation of 550 Nigerians.