NAPTIP boss outlines challenges militating agains anti-trafficking war

The Lagos Zone, National Agency for Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and Other Related Matters (NAPTIP), says the uncooperative attitude of victims and the public is militating against its carrying out its mandate.

The Zonal Commander, Mr Joseph Famakin, made the assertion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Lagos.

Famakin said that the victims were made to swear to oath of secrecy when they were recruited which made them to do self appraisal at the time of rescue.

He also said that the public was not willing to give intelligence reports to help the agency to curb human trafficking.

“In every organisation there are challenges, and it should be seen as challenges and not difficulty which is part of the system.

“The uncooperative attitude of the victims does not help, and a lot of victims sometimes, when they are rescued do not see it as a thing of joy.

“We have what we call victims dilemma; when a victim is rescued she does a personal assessment of herself.

“A friend of mine who was trafficked came back built houses for the parents and bought cars.

“Why am I coming back? Am I a failure? I have worked for two years and I have another year to pay up and start on my own, why is it now that I’m rescued?

Famakin said that apart from the victims, another major challenge the agency had was lack of cooperation from the members of the public.

“Members of the public unlike the days of old, when we are our brothers’ keepers are no longer our brothers’ keeper.

“We don’t give out information, we don’t assist victims of human trafficking that are affected,’’ he said.

Famakin further said that the victims were seeing the rescue as disruption to quick riches.

“Victims sometimes do not see their rescue as a good thing; they see it as disruption of their way of getting quick riches.

“The oath f secrecy is there, they are not prepared to cooperate.

“When the victim refuses to corporate you cannot use another method except you appeal to her conscience to help to bring human trafficking to an end,’’ he said.

He noted that the numbers of states within the Lagos zone were many and that had not helped to effectively fight the menace.

“When you look at Lagos for instance, the states under the zone is on the high side and the agency is making every effort to divide the zone into two.

“In no distant time a new zone would emerge from the Lagos zone.

“The economic situation makes it difficult except when approvals are granted.

“We cannot continue to increase manpower, so, the numbers of intelligence operatives we have now in Lagos zone are adequate to carry out our assignments.

“Shortfall of logistics is common in all organisations but with what we have, we are doing our best to see the reduction of human trafficking.

Famakin also disclosed that education was no longer a barrier in trafficking because some of the victims were graduates.

“If you visit the shelter, you will discover that the girls trafficked are beautiful girls.

“The case of HIV is not the same as Ebola; when you have Ebola you will be quarantined, but there is no law that says that we should quarantine a HIV patient.

“So, if you say you are a big man, my child is not trafficked but the girl being trafficked had contacted the disease.

“The child of the big men in the society visits the night club and meets one of the girls; the disease might be spread from there.

“So, we should all come out to say no to human trafficking,’’ he said.

The zonal commander also attributed some of the challenges to the high rate of unemployment in the country.

He said that the Federal Government was doing everything to reduce unemployment.

“Our children’s desperation to get out of the country is on the high side because they believe it is greener there.

“They fall victim to being trafficked out. We have seen cases of graduates and educated ones that are trafficked; it is no longer illiterates that are trafficked.

“With the cumbersome judicial process, it is reducing when people are punished adequately and with the new law it will serve as a deterrent.

He urged Nigerians, religious groups and NGOs to visit victims in their shelter and motherless babies’ homes to pray for them and counsel them.