By Lawrence Enyoghasu, Lagos

The Director General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Dr Fatima Waziri–Azi, has warned Nigerian youths on how they use the technology, adding that traffickers have adopted it to enhance their trade.

Waziri-Azi made the plea at a press conference to highlight the activities lined up to celebrate 2022 World Day Against Human Trafficking held at NAPTIP headquarters; adding that this year’s theme, “Use and Abuse of Technology”, shows clearly the dynamic of the advantages and the disadvantages of technology.

“This theme is timely, couldn’t have come at a better time considering the fact that human traffickers now operate online as much as they operate offline. If COVID has taught us anything, it is the re-enforcement of the need for the digital channel of communication which has led to a massive digital transformation,” she stated.

“The fact remains, while technology has come as a great relief and a major boost in the way of life of people, the same has left much to be concerned about because human traffickers have also caught on to this digital transformation. There is a shift from physical recruitment to virtual recruitment through virtual assessment of victims and proxy negotiations.

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“The Internet provides easy access to a larger pool of potential victims because geographical limitations no longer exist, thereby increasing the ease with which traffickers can locate and recruit their victims; control and organize transportation for victims, communicate amongst perpetrators, and hide criminal proceeds.

“At NAPTIP, we have seen an increase in fake job advertorials and fake scholarships via social media as Traffickers use it to recruit and catfish unsuspecting victims. Traffickers also use technology to control their victims. For instance, besides oath taking, they make nude videos of their victims and threaten to share the explicit images online.

“While technology is frequently misused to facilitate trafficking in persons, its positive use helps combat trafficking and support anti-trafficking work, such as aiding investigations that in turn enhance prosecutions, scaling awareness campaigns, and developing technology-based tools that support victims and survivors and enhancing international cooperation,” she stated.

Vice Prof Yemi Osinbajo will be the Special Guest of Honour at the Grand Finale and the celebration would include the premiere of a short film titled, POUND OF HEART. “A film on organ harvesting produced by the NAPTIP Drama Club. This Premier will hold on Wednesday, July 27 2022, at Silverbird Cinema,” she stated.

Related: Human traffickers now recruit digitally – NAPTIP