From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
Five hundred people involved in human trafficking offences have been convicted since the establishment of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Person (NAPTIP) by the Federal Government, the agency has disclosed.
NAPTIP Zonal Commander, Nduka Nwanwenne, who made the disclosure when he paid separate visits to the Chairman of the State Gender Response Initiative Team (GRIT), Mrs Dise Ogbise, in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa state capital, said that NAPTIP was established when Nigeria was at a low ebb in organised crime.
He said the issue of human trafficking, for any purpose, is not an isolated problem to Bayelsa or Nigeria, but a global problem, hence the need for collaboration with different stakeholders, such as GRIT, security agencies, traditional and religious leaders.
Nwanwenne, who oversees Bayelsa, Delta and Edo states, explained that building collaboration is enshrined in the law that established the agency.
While pointing out that NAPTIP is Nigeria’s response to addressing the scourge of trafficking in persons, he added that the agency is both an enforcement and welfare agency that enforce the law and, also, support victims to be reintegrated back into the society through capacity building.
Nwanwenne highlighted the agency’s thematic areas as prevention, protection, prosecution and participation, adding that his team would be delighted to collaborate with GRIT and FIDA in these areas, to ensure that human trafficking is minimised in the state as humans are priceless and not commodities that should be purchased and or resold.
(Continued on www.sunnewsonline)
He applauded GRIT for what it has been doing in promoting the rights of vulnerable groups and helping survivors get justice.
Mrs Dise Ogbise informed the NAPTIP team that the GRIT was put together by the First Lady of the State, Dr. Mrs Gloria Diri, in September 2021, noted that GRIT would continue to collaborate with NAPTIP.
Ogbise, while disclosing that cases of trafficking in person have been referred to the state office, decried women’s involvement in human trafficking and assured that GRIT will collaborate with NAPTIP to advocate the establishment of a safe home in the state, which will strengthen enforcement and ensure that justice is served.
She stressed the need for inter-agency collaboration, particularly, with the police in handling cases of trafficking in person and, also, the need for capacity building with the police to understand the mandate of NAPTIP, to effectively implement the law.