NAPTIP secures 356 convictions on human trafficking

• Britain CreatesTask Force To Curb Human Trafficking Menace

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), says it has so far secured the convictions of 356 Human Traffickers since it began operation in 2013.

Director General of the agency, Julie Okah-Donli, disclosed this yesterday in Benin City, Edo State, while inaugurating a library built by the Zonal Command. According to her, the latest conviction of four persons was secured on Wednesday, adding that the agency has many other cases being prosecuted worldwide. Commending the command for the initiative and encouraging the staff to be proactive in coming up with innovative ideas, she advised them to constantly develop themselves by making use of the library for self-development.

She further stated that religious bodies must be carried along in advocacy campaigns against human trafficking, adding that her target was to place the agency among the top ranked in the country.

Earlier, the Benin Zonal Commander of the agency, Nduka Nwawenne, said the driving force behind the building of the library was the stride of the Director General in taking the agency to greater height.

In related development, the British Government has reaffirmed its commitment to Nigeria’s effort towards effective and result-oriented war against human trafficking in the country. British Deputy High Commissioner in Nigeria, Harriet Thompson, made the commitment while inaugurating a Joint Border Task Force (JBTF) Satellite office in Benin, Edo, provided by the National Crime Agency (NCA) of UK to support NAPTIP in the fight against human trafficking.

Thompson said that UK Government was collaborating with the Federal Government to fight human trafficking and modern slavery as both issues affects the two countries.She disclosed that great successes had been achieved in the effort through years of collaboration, especially with the recent conviction of a suspected Nigerian female human trafficker in the UK.