Lagos NAPTIP, others want poverty alleviated to reduce human trafficking

As the world marks the “World Day Against Human Trafficking’’, the Lagos Zonal Command, National Agency For Prohibition Of Traffic In Persons And Other Related Matters (NAPTIP) urges Nigerians to say no to human trafficking.

The Zonal Commander, Joseph Famakin, said that NAPTIP would continue to enlighten the public on the dangers of human trafficking and its consequence until it was reduced to the barest minimum.

“We are winning the war against human traffickers but we also need to do more to curb the menace to its barest minimum.

“We will continue to do all we can to enlighten the public on the tactics and the routes human traffickers use to engage in their illegal acts.

“We will also continue to enlighten the stakeholders and security agencies on how to fight the war against human trafficking.

“Everyone should join force to say no to human trafficking,’’ he said.

Famakin also advised Nigerians, especially parents to take care by monitoring their children well enough with the aim of putting an end to human trafficking.

“Parents should watch over their children and also bear the number of children they can cater for.

“We should train our children and not encourage other people to do that for us.

“Giving birth to the number of children we cannot cater for makes us seek help from people we do not know to cater for them on our behalf.

“These traffickers then take them to places we do not know which might make them vulnerable to trafficking, abuses and hawking in traffic.

“I enjoin everyone to join hands with us in NAPTIP to endeavour to end human trafficking in our society,’’ he said.

However, some Nigerians say the country could only win the war against human trafficking if it engaged in poverty alleviation and granting free education to children.

A legal practitioner, Monday Ubani, saidthat there should be more enlightenment programmes in the rural areas, adding that people there had yet to know the dangers of human trafficking.

“The level of enlightenment is not enough to reach out to the rural and urban areas.

“Some of them are not aware of the dangers and the legal consequences.

“We need to do more to educate the people because child abuse and baby factories are all over the country,’’ he said.

Ubani commended the efforts of the state and federal governments in ensuring the menace was curbed, urging NAPTIP to be more efficient in its responsibilities.

“We have the law but they are ineffective and also the agencies have not been effective enough and that is why the war has not been won.

“We really need the agencies to be on their toes, working hand in hand with security agencies and educating the public more on the evil act,’’ he said.

Another legal practitioner, Spurgeon Ataene corroborated Ubani, saying that “we must be proactive in fighting this war.

“And funds must be pumped into human right organisations by the government for it to be more successful in curbing the menace.

Ataene also advised human rights organisations to be on the offensive which was a way of reducing the menace.

“At the boarders, within the country and in the rural areas, there should be the presence of these human rights organisations to make it difficult for traffickers to thrive.

“We have porous borders and villages, so, there should be the presence of these human rights organisations in all the nooks and crannies of the country,’’ he said.

A security expert, Dr Onah Ehkomu, said that unemployment, economic challenges, excessive poverty and lack of social security had led to people indulging in human trafficking.

“People, especially youths feel they must succeed by all means and a lot of young people think that if they go out of the country, they will become very rich.

“This is why young people avail themselves to be trafficked because there is a lot of misconception.

“Nigeria has been the worst offender in this act throughout the whole world,’’ he said.

Ehkomu added that corruption in the security agencies had added to the menace.

Lagos-based human rights lawyer, Festus Keyamo, said the government should endeavour to provide free education at all levels to reduce human trafficking.

“When parents find it difficult to train their children, it results in trafficking which is why government should ensure free education across all levels.

“When parents find it difficult to train their children it results in trafficking them,’’ he said.

NAN