41 persons convicted for human trafficking offences – NAPTIP

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) said no fewer than 41 persons have been convicted for various forms of human trafficking across the country in the last one year.

The Director-General of the agency, Dr Julie Okah-Donli, disclosed this while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) after a road walk to sensitise people against human trafficking in Abuja on Monday.

Okah-Donli explained that 359 people had so far been convicted for different offences of human trafficking since 15 years of establishment of NAPTIP.

She said that agency was now more committed and determined than ever to prosecute anyone involved in human trafficking no matter how highly placed in the society.

She stated that NAPTIP had now focused attention on those using under-aged children as house helps, pointing out that anyone caught in the act would face the wrath of law.

According to her, there is need for the general public to give the agency relevant information that will lead to arrest of suspects of child trafficking.

The NAPTIP boss said that since she assumed duty as head of the agency, she had been doing more on awareness creation to sensitise people on the danger of human trafficking.

She emphasised the need to take the sensitisation campaign beyond cities to rural areas where most human trafficking activities take place.
Okah-Donli enjoined international organisations, NGOs and other relevant stakeholders to continue to support NAPTIP to win the war against human trafficking.