The Senate has called for investigations into travel agencies suspected of involvement in human trafficking and tougher regulation of tenants and short-let apartments as part of efforts to dismantle trafficking networks and protect Nigerians from exploitation abroad.

The resolutions followed consideration of a joint report by Senate committees on Diaspora and NGOs, Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, Foreign Affairs, and Special Duties on the trafficking and abuse of Nigerians overseas, particularly in Libya.

Presenting the report, Vice Chairman of the Diaspora Committee, Senator Anthony Yaro, said the committees had consulted relevant stakeholders and examined an earlier motion on the trafficking of Nigerians in Libya.

The Senate urged the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), the police, Nigeria Immigration Service, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and other agencies to investigate suspected trafficking rings and travel agencies allegedly involved in recruiting and exploiting Nigerians abroad.

The investigations, it said, should examine recruitment channels, financial transactions and travel arrangements to identify suspects and build evidence for prosecution.

The lawmakers also called for stricter enforcement of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015, and the Child Rights Act, 2003.

They urged the Federal Government to increase funding for NAPTIP and other relevant agencies to strengthen investigations, prosecutions and victim support.

The Senate further recommended a national protection and reintegration programme for rescued Nigerians, to be coordinated by the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons in partnership with NAPTIP.

It also asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to deepen engagement with Libya on intelligence sharing, border management, dismantling trafficking networks and repatriating victims.

Debate on the report broadened to domestic security after Senate President Godswill Akpabio recounted the case of three children allegedly abducted in Akwa Ibom State and moved through Aba, Katsina and Lagos before they were nearly trafficked to Ghana.

Akpabio said the children had been missing for 93 days before their rescue.

He commended the Inspector-General of Police and the Akwa Ibom State Police Command for their role in recovering the children and pledged a university scholarship for the eldest.

The case prompted senators to call for stricter tenancy regulations, including a “Know Your Tenant” system and closer monitoring of short-let apartments, arguing that such measures could help security agencies trace people suspected of criminal activities.

Former Sokoto State governor and ex-Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, recalled an unsuccessful attempt to introduce tenancy registration legislation while he presided over the House.

He said Sokoto State later established a similar framework through a Rent Control and Management Commission, urging other states to consider comparable measures.

However, senators Neda Imasuen, Babangida Hussaini, Adams Oshiomhole and Mohammed Aliero cautioned that legislation alone would not resolve the problem without effective enforcement.

They also called for public enlightenment and more employment opportunities to reduce the economic pressures that leave Nigerians vulnerable to traffickers and exploitation through irregular migration.