31st August, 2021
By Aderogba George
Governor Abdullahi Ganduje has pledged to support the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) in the fight against human trafficking.
This is contained in a statement signed by Mr Vincent Adekoye, the Assistant Head, Press and Public Relations Unit NAPTIP in Abuja on Tuesday.
The governor pledged while receiving NAPTIP management led by its Director-General, Sen. Basheer Mohammed in Kano, ahead of the inauguration of the state task force against trafficking.
He said that human trafficking is endemic in Kano state due to its status as an emerging business hub, coupled with other developments like road, rail lines and others.
“We welcome the idea of the state task force on human trafficking. We shall partner with your agency and the task force will be given the desired support.
“The previous management of NAPTIP had narrowed their approach to issues of human trafficking alone.
”It is commendable you have identified other societal problems and are ready to tackle them,” Ganduje said.
Ganduje also lauded the NAPTIP boss for his zeal, commitment and innovation in the agency which he said had led to the ongoing repositioning as well as hinting the state the mandate of the agency.
Mohammed said the task force would be carrying out the war on counter-trafficking initiative and made another component of the awareness about the agency.
According to him, part of the task force aim was to secure the support of critical stakeholders and other partners in the fight against the human trafficking menace and other social problems in the country.
Furthermore, the NAPTIP boss disclosed that Kano state was highly endemic based on the statistics available to the agency in the area victims rescue, arrest and prosecution of offenders.
“The problem of human trafficking and irregular migration have become national and international concerns.
‘A large number of Nigerians are trapped in sexual and labour exploitation in various African and European countries.
“Hundreds have continued to die in transit along the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea. In 2020, reports emerged about human farms in parts of Libya where black African migrants are allegedly kept in cages like animals.
“Organs like eyes, kidneys and lungs are harvested to service the medical needs of Europe, from inception to date, NAPTIP has rescued a total of 16, 277 victims of human trafficking,” he said.
He said out of that figure 14,474 were trafficked, 1,287 are from Kano state.
”NAPTIP vulnerability index analysis showed that human trafficking is endemic in Kano.
“In the same vein, out of the total of 482 convicted persons by the agency from inception, 110 are from Kano zonal command of NAPTIP, representing the highest in the country.
“NAPTIP is worried over this ugly trend of the trafficking of young Nigerian women to the Middle East, who are mostly from Kano and neighbouring States. In the last 10 days, NAPTIP has successfully rescued 104 victims.
“The Kano command in the last two months successfully rescued another set of 12 Kano indigenes in Agadez, Niger Republic, who were victims of child labour,” Mohammed said.
He added that the 12 Kano indigenes had been successfully rehabilitated and reunited with their families in Kano.
NAN