US scores Nigeria, NAPTIP high in tackling human trafficking

Henry Omunu, Abuja

The efforts of the Federal Government in combating human trafficking through the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has received commendation from the United States government even as Nigeria has been upgraded to tier 2 watch list in the 2019 US trafficking in persons report.

The development came on the heels of serious efforts on expanding awareness and stakeholders’ advocacy throughout the country embarked upon by the Director General of the NAPTIP, Dame Julie Okah-Donli, to increase the knowledge of the people on issues of human trafficking as well as victim protection and support.

The US report which was released on Thursday by the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, is an annual global assessment of the level of compliance of countries to the minimum standards in the eradication of trafficking in persons around the world.

NAPTIP Head, Press and Public Relations Unit, Stella Nezan, who made this known in a statement in Abuja on Friday, recalled that Nigeria slipped from tier 1 rating to tier 2 watch list years ago due to reasons connected with the prevailing security challenges in parts of the country which placed additional burden on frontline agencies combating the human trafficking scourge.

According to the statement, in the report, the US government stated that Nigeria has demonstrated overall increasing efforts compared to the previous reporting period necessitating the upgrading of the nation to tier 2.

The report further states that “these efforts included supporting implementation of a 2017 action plan between Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), a government – supported non-governmental armed group, and an international organisation to end its recruitment and use of child soldiers.

“The government convicted significantly more traffickers than the previous reporting period and initiated prosecution against seven government officials allegedly complicit in trafficking.”

Reacting to the development, Director General of NAPTIP, Dame Julie Okah –Donli, disclosed that she received the report with mixed feeling because she had expected Nigeria to be upgraded to tier 1.

“Even though many people including partners of the agency have been calling to congratulate me on the upgrading of Nigeria to tier 2, I received the report with mixed feeling because I had expected Nigeria to top the tier 1 list,” she stated.

Dame Okah-Donli thanked the President Muhammadu Buhari and the former Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, for their support to the agency within the period under review.

“The present administration has demonstrated the desired commitment and political will to combat human trafficking in the country.

“In the last one year, we have doubled our prosecution and number of convictions and revamped our strategies aimed at combating human trafficking through massive public enlightenment and awareness creation campaigns, advocacy as well as other preventive measures.

“We commenced the inauguration of state task forces against human trafficking as one of our grassroots concepts to ensure states’ participation. Delta and Ondo states have fully taken off, Edo state task force that was earlier on inaugurated were trained while the Ekiti State task force will be inaugurated by Governor Kayode Fayemi on June, 24.

“This project is being sponsored by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC). In addition, with the support of ECOWAS and IOM, we recently embarked on sensitization of border communities, Law Enforcement agencies and transporters within the Nigeria – Seme, Benin – Togo border corridor.

“We have just concluded advocacy and sensitization of key stakeholders in Lagos state with a visit to traditional rulers, schools and local government officials on the need to support the fight against human trafficking in the country,” the NAPTIP boss added.

The latest global commendation on the efforts of NAPTIP in combating human trafficking came barely few months after the agency provided employment for three of the survivors of human trafficking rescued and sponsored through university by the agency and civil society partners.