The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Human trafficking

  • Edo takes campaign against human trafficking to schools

    The Edo Government yesterday began campaign against human trafficking and illegal migration in secondary schools across the state.

    Mr Solomon Okoduwa, the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Governor Godwin Obaseki, initiated the campaign at Edo National College, Iguobazuwa.

    The Governor’s aide, who expressed worry over the situation appealed to the students to adhere to what they are being told in the campaign against human trafficking and irregular migration.

    Okoduwa said the government would not fold its arms to allow the illegal activities to thrive in the state.

    He added that the government would focus especially on the rural areas where human traffickers harvest teenagers.

    According to him, Governor Obaseki-led administration is interested in ‘your future and he wants you to fulfil your dreams. Therefore don’t listen to those telling you about travelling abroad.

    “They could use your parents or even your pastors to convince you to embark on this perilous journey. The traffickers don’t care what you become in future but they want to use you to make money for themselves.

    “Many of those trafficked died on their way or those who were able to get to Libya or anywhere in Europe are being enslaved, sexually exploited by their sponsors,” he advised.

    He also urged the students to report anyone who encourage them to embark on such journey through the Mediterranean Sea and Sahara Desert to Libya. (NAN)

     

  • Lagos seeks end to human trafficking, prostitution

    Lagos State government, through the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, has sensitised residents of Epe, Lagos Island, Ikeja, Ikorodu and Badagry local government areas to dangers of prostitution, human trafficking and smuggling of migrants. OMOLARA AKINTOYE reports.

    The world over, there are people who are forced to work for little or no pay. They are controlled by threats, debt, and violence. The trend has several terminologies, but means the same thing: modern slavery.

    Slavery is illegal everywhere, but it continues to thrive because so many people don’t understand it, or do not want to think about it, even as some do not know how to change or end it.

    Many well-meaning individuals are peeved by this modern day slavery because the practice presents all forms of olden day forms of slavery such as dehumanisation of victims. As a result, several groups, individuals, government and non-governmental organisations have engaged in crusades on how to put an end to this horrid development.

    Lagos State government has shown serious commitment to eradicating prostitution/human trafficking and smuggling of migrants.

    Of late, the government, through the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, sensitised residents of Epe, Lagos Island, Ikeja, Ikorodu and Badagry local government areas to the dangers of prostitution/human trafficking and smuggling of migrants.

    The sensitisation campaign, according to the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Lola Akande, was designed to create awareness among the populace on prostitution and human trafficking in Lagos; and how the state has employed various measures to eliminate the ugly trend.

    Akande, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Mrs. Adesola Onipede, highlighted some of the measures put in place in order to curtail human trafficking. Some of these measures, she said, included sensitisation of the general public through conferences and seminars, empowerment and vocational trainings for women to alleviate poverty which she identified as one of the root causes of human trafficking.

    “In this regard, Lagos State government, through the ministry, organised several vocational skills acquisition trainings for residents of the state, especially women. So, over 50,000 people have been trained and they have graduated from our 17 functional centres located in different parts of the state since inception”, Akande said.

    She said the government is focusing on women because they are vulnerable to the vices which, according to her, must be stopped through provision of sustainable sources of income and livelihood for women.

    The Commissioner, who stated that the ministry has been embarking on series of campaigns on different societal vices in recent time, noted that the need to create awareness among Lagosians on prostitution and human trafficking cannot be over-emphasised.

    Akande maintained that it is important to address the demand-driven factors and to alter the overall market incentive of high profit and low risk that traffickers currently exploit in order to solve the problem of human trafficking.

    She further stated that although factors such as low community awareness, ineffective laws, little or no investigation by law enforcement agents and paucity of resources for victim recovery services had, overtime, aided the boom of the ugly practice.

    Akande assured women that the government will continue to do its best in fighting the trend until the state is rid of this unpleasant phenomenon which not only undermines the security of the state but also of the nation at large.

    The commissioner also recalled that in January this year, the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, in commemoration of the International Day of Alleviation of Poverty, empowered 150 women across the state with tools such as grinders, sewing machines and hair dryers for economic self-reliance.

    According to the commissioner, all the empowerment initiatives as well as the establishment of N25 billion Empowerment Trust Fund (ETF) under the present administration are indicators that the Lagos State government is very concerned about issues affecting the welfare of its citizens and would do everything possible to ensure that the people enjoy good and secure life.

    On her part, the Zonal Director, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) Lagos chapter, Mrs. Kehinde Akomolafe said it has so far rescued over 12,000 Nigerians from being trafficked and convicted 389 human traffickers since inception.

    Akomolafe, who spoke on “Causes/Effects of Human Trafficking and Society”, highlighted some of the causes of human trafficking. She said they include greed, laziness and ignorance, among others. She noted that the agency was now more committed and determined to prosecute anyone involved in human trafficking.

    According to Akomolafe, NAPTIP condemns people using under-aged children as house helps, pointing out that anyone caught in the act will be prosecuted.

    Giving a general overview of smuggling of migrants, causes, consequences and facilities available to migrants, the Zonal Director, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, (NCFRMI), Mrs. Ngozi Ukegbu said smuggling should be addressed by weakening the demand for  foreign workers.

    “In addition to enforcement, it is necessary to work with employers, including  households, to encourage them to use legal labour migration channels. This should be in accordance with needs in destination countries, notably in sectors that have become structurally in need of undocumented migrants. More efficient return migration policies can also reduce benefits to clients of smugglers” Ukegbu said.

    The ministry also staged a road show in Ikeja and its environs to further sensitise the people to the hideous practice in Pidgin English, English and Yoruba languages.

    Research has shown that organised crime rings exploit between 700,000 and four million new victims of human trafficking each year. There is also evidence of trafficking in women and children within Nigeria.  Apart from human trafficking, the women are also subjected to inhuman treatments such as prostitution against their will. Experts maintain that prostitution in Nigeria is largely caused by socio-economic factors.

  • Tackling human trafficking through censorship of forced child labour

    Human trafficking is a global problem. Every year, thousands of men, women and children fall into the hands of traffickers, in their own countries and abroad. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), almost every country in the world is affected by trafficking, whether as a country of origin, transit or destination for victims.

    According to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime, “trafficking in persons is defined as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.”

    Nigeria is a signatory to this protocol and in its response to ridding the nation of the scourge of human trafficking as well as fulfilling its international obligations, enacted the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Law Enforcement and Administration Act, 2003. This act birthed The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) which was created on 14 July 2003. Entrusted with the responsibility of enforcing and administering the provisions of the act, NAPTIP has since its inception, tackled the scourge in line with the functions and powers vested in it.

    However, the media is replete with reports that show that Nigeria remains a source, transit, and destination country for women and children subjected to human trafficking including forced labour and forced prostitution. The rescue of thousands of Nigerians being trafficked to Libya is a matter of daily reportage in Nigeria.  The Director General of NAPTIP, Dame Julie Okah-Donli, stated that over 10,500 Nigerians have been rescued and repatriated so far from Libya, according to The Nation newspaper of July 30, 2018.  The Vanguard Newspaper of May 20, 2018 quoted an Edo State government official as stating that no fewer than 100 students of a secondary school in Benin had been trafficked to Libya in the preceding four months.  The rescue of victims of human trafficking across several states of Nigeria including Abuja, by NAPTIP, state governments, the police and other security agencies is reported in all news media with alarming frequency.

    NAPTIP reports that in the period from January to September 2017, it provided protection and assistance to 1,228 rescued victims of human trafficking, and 41.3% or 506 were children under the age of 18. The agency reveals further that it received 620 cases at its Investigation and Monitoring Department  in the period  and “employment of a child as domestic worker and inflicting grievous harm” had the highest occurrence at 136 or 21.9%,with”foreign travel which promotes prostitution” following closely with 124 cases.

    The International Labour Organization (ILO) in its global estimates for 2017 revealed, among other things, that 152million children between 5 and 17 years are victims of child labour; 72.1million of them are in Africa and 73million work in hazardous conditions.

    When children or adolescents participate in work that does not affect their health and personal development or interfere with their schooling, it is generally regarded as being something positive. Such  activities as helping their parents around the home, assisting in a family business or earning pocket money outside school hours and during school holidays  contribute to children’s development and to the welfare of their families. They do not constitute child labour.

    Child labour, according to ILO, refers to work that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children; interferes with their schooling by depriving them of the opportunity to attend school, obliging them to leave school prematurely or requiring them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work. In its most extreme forms, child labour involves children being enslaved, separated from their families, exposed to serious hazards and illnesses and/or left to fend for themselves on the streets.

    The reports from NAPTIP and ILO tend to validate the African Centre for Advocacy and Human Development, Nigeria 2015 report to the 13th UN Crime Congress in Doha, Qatar. The report explored the root causes of human trafficking in Nigeria, and among the factors listed were widespread poverty; a desire to migrate to urban cities (or abroad) to work and study; conflicts that result in displacements of people; a weak legal system; and acceptance of the practice of entrusting poor children to more affluent friends or relatives.

    The National Bureau of Statistics in its multiple indicator cluster survey (MICS) for 2017 states that 50.8% of Nigerians between the ages of 5 and 17 are involved in child labour and global estimates from ILO reveal that agriculture accounts for 71% of child labour.

    While child labour remains a major driver of human trafficking in Nigeria, it also offers an opportunity to well-meaning citizens (both individual and corporate) to redress the menace. This is because the efforts of government through its agencies (NAPTIP and security agencies) along with non-governmental organisations to end the scourge in all its ramifications will be hugely bolstered if the rest of society consciously and actively opposes the incidence of child labour.

    Aware of the supply chain slavery risks inherent in the food and drink industry, some major manufacturers in the sector, namely Nestle, Unilever and Coca-cola, are increasingly seeing the need to adapt their policies and practices to tackle the problem of child labour especially in West African countries. Efforts by the British American Tobacco Nigeria (BATN) and Okomu Oil Palm Company (OOPC) in curbing child labour are also quite laudable.

    For instance, Nestlé and its partners have, in recent years, been involving communities in Côte d’Ivoire in a renewed bid to prevent the use of child labour in cocoa-growing areas by raising awareness and training people to identify children at risk. The company notes that the use of child labour in its cocoa supply chain goes against everything it stands for, adding that tackling child labour is its top priority.

    In the same vein, BATN’s supplier code of conduct forbids child labour in tobacco farming operations. To ensure full compliance, the company insists that registered farmers produce a documentary proof that their children attended school during the growing season and this is also validated through unannounced spot checks. The organisation continually strives to ensure farmers are compliant with ILO Standards, Sustainable Tobacco Programme (STP) requirements, local laws for child labour on farms and forced labour criteria. The company is also very active in the fight to curb illicit trade in tobacco, which is increasingly a source of funding for organized crime rings who among other things, engage in human trafficking.

    On its part, OOPC has a child labour policy that prohibits the use of child labour by contractors and third-party contract workers, or any company and/or institution that does business with it.

    The plan by the Lagos State government to commence regulation of the activities of domestic workers, many of whom are children, is also another initiative that will curtail the incidence of forced child labour; expose the dangers inherent in it; change people’s perceptions and deter them from inadvertently providing a market for human trafficking.

    With the recent commemoration of the World Day against Trafficking in Persons, it is hoped that more people will realize the gains achievable in the fight through collective censorship of child labour as well as effective initiatives that help to curb it.

     

    • Elujoba is a public affairs analyst based in Lagos

  • Human Trafficking: NAPTIP to establish desks at airports

    The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) said it is stepping up measures to prevent, combat and eradicate trafficking in persons in the country.

    The agency’s Assistant Director, Public Enlightenment, Mrs Ebele Ulasi, NAPTIP, said this in Abuja at World Day Against Human Trafficking organised by U.S. Embassy in Abuja in collaboration with Devatop Centre.

    Ulasi said the agency had resolved to establish desks at points of entry at the nation’s international airports “to destroy trafficking business in the country.”

    She added that the measure was to do thorough checking of travellers with a bid to crack down suspected traffickers and rescue the victims.

    The assistant director said that the agency had on various occasions burst trafficking cartels associated with high profile individuals in the country

    She said: “trafficking in persons is a degraded crime as traffickers profit from peoples’ hopes and despair. They prey on the vulnerable and rob them of their fundamental rights. Women, children, young girls and boys are always the target.”

    She expressed concern that victims were most times sexually exploited, including involuntary prostitution, forced marriage and sexual slavery.

    She added that some victims had their organs harvested and sold by the traffickers.

    Ulasi said that the agency had also concluded arrangements to introduce “Traffic In Persons (TIP)’’ as subject into the curriculum of primary and secondary schools.

    She noted that NAPTIP was collaborating with the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) on the proposal “to create awareness among children of school age.

    “We are working with NERDC to try to get this done. We are doing this because part of the mandate of NAPTIP is to create awareness, sensitise the masses on the prevalence and dangers associated with human trafficking.

    “In taking up these challenges, we keep looking for means of creating permanent awareness, especially for children under the age of 18.”

    Acting Deputy Chief of Mission in the U.S. Embassy, Aruna Amirthanayagam, said the U.S. was committed to joining forces with Federal Government to end human trafficking.

    Amirthanayagam said all hands must be on deck to ensure that the business of human trafficking did not thrive.

    “I hope that something stirs within you, where you can no longer sit at the side-lines and allow men and women, children and young adults to be exploited in your communities and nation,” he said.

    The Provost of Police Public Relations School, Retired Commissioner of Police, Emannuel Ojukwu, said that the fight against trafficking in persons was a business of everybody.

     

  • 41 convicted of human trafficking

    The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has said 41 persons were convicted of human trafficking in the last one year.

    Director-General Dr. Julie Okah-Donli told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Abuja after a walk to sensitise people against human trafficking.

    Dr. Okah-Donlin said 359 people had been convicted of human trafficking since 15 years of NAPTIP.

    She said the agency was committed and determined to prosecute anyone involved in human trafficking, no matter how highly placed in the society.

    Okah-Donli said NAPTIP focused attention on those using underage children as house helps, adding that anyone caught will face the law.

    According to her, there is need for the public to give the agency information about suspected child traffickers.

    The NAPTIP boss said since she assumed duties, she had been creating awareness, to sensitise people on dangers of human trafficking.

    She stressed the need to take the sensitisation to rural areas where most human trafficking activities take place.

    Okah-Donli enjoined international organisations, non-government organisations (NGOs) and relevant stakeholders to support NAPTIP to win the war

  • Human trafficking: Obaseki’s initiatives attract Diaspora Ambassador

    … as NGO arrives Benin City for skills training, stakes N50,000 grant for each trainee

     

    Efforts by the Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, to rehabilitate and reintegrate victims of human trafficking and irregular migration have attracted support from indigenes of the state in the Diaspora, who are now committed to advancing the governor’s campaign and supporting the reintegration of returnees.

    Recall that Governor Obaseki few weeks ago was in Brussels, Belgium to seek the European Parliament’s partnership in building structures for robust Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and other forms of support from the European Union so as to strengthen the state government’s programme in rehabilitating and reintegrating the returnees, and upskill other youths in the state.

    Inspired by the governor’s spirited and sustained effort to stem the trend of human trafficking, Mrs. Queen Klopper, a Germany-based indigene of the state and Founder of Haven for Rehabilitation and Reintegration, a Non-Governmental Organisation, has thrown her weight behind the rehabilitation effort.

    Speaking with journalists yesterday in Benin City, she charged Edo indigenes resident in the state and in the Diaspora to support the efforts of the government, so that she can make a headway in its campaign against human trafficking.

    She said she was back in the country to contribute her own quota to the state government’s effort and has finalised arrangement to organise a skills acquisition training for 10 of the returnees on July 20.

    According to her, “I am based in Germany. I had a Foundation in Abuja, called Haven for Rehabilitation and Reintegration, which I started six years ago. I relocated to Germany but the fire to help others still burns in me. The Foundation has as its objectives to train youths on skills, prison visits to empower prisoners, and rural development, especially to empower rural women.”

    Explaining her motivation for the training, she said, “The condition of Libya returnees is no longer news. They were put through hard labour and torture. We heard about it on the news in Germany for days, as well as on social media. From there, I saw how Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, tried his best to rehabilitate them. They were given free accommodation, food and even monthly stipends, which is not easy.

    “I thought that it would be a good idea to contribute my quota to his very impressive campaign, given the limited resources. I felt if I could train just a few of these people with my personal funds, it will go a long way in helping the state.”

    She said the skills acquisition programme will last for two days and the module includes advanced beadmaking and aso-oke gele tying.

    “After this, some of them will be sent to Abuja for advanced training for two weeks. For the best of the set, who will proceed to Abuja for training, we plan a N50,000 grant and a kit for them to start-up. We hope that this will be about three to five people. The training will be in-depth,” she said.

    According to her, “We intend to sustain this programme and I call on more people to support the state government’s efforts to train these people.  We want to also train some of the young men among them on how to make tie and dye, which will last for a month. Tie and dye production is not very popular in Edo State; it is popular in the South West. But we want them to learn.”

     

     

  • Why human trafficking is increasing, by Ogun CJ

    Chief Judge of Ogun State Justice Olatokunbo Olopade has blamed the rising cases of human trafficking to poverty, ignorance and ineffective law enforcement.

    She said peer pressure, porous borders, corruption, involvement of international organised criminal networks, lack of adequate legislation and political will to enforce existing legislation were other factors that fuel the crime.

    The CJ, represented by Justice Abiodun Akinyemi, called for stricter law enforcement to curb human trafficking.

    She urged the government to enact an all-inclusive law that adequately punishes offenders and has provisions to rehabilitate the victims, backed by reinforced legal institutions and framework.

    She said there was the need for extensive and broad public enlightenment through the media and in the markets, at community meetings, palaces, religious places and in areas that are prone to the scourge.

    The CJ spoke in Abeokuta at the opening of a two-day workshop organised by the Ogun State Judiciary, in collaboration with the Conference of Western Attorneys-General/African Alliance Partnership (CWAG/AAP) and Nigerian partner/coordinator, Punuka Attorneys and Solicitors (international law centre).

    Its theme was: Succeeding in the fight against human trafficking.

    She said: “The likely target audience is the poor and this must inform the strategy to be employed to reach out to them and pass the message across.”

    Justice Olopade expressed sadness over the scourge of human trafficking, particularly as it affects children.

    “The trend has taken a frightening and dangerous dimension globally, especially with our country, Nigeria, becoming a big hub breeding victims who are mainly children and women.

    “It has become a complex multi-faceted phenomenon. The demand for cheap labour and commercial sex workers has made human trafficking business to thrive globally.

    “All hands must be on deck to put a stop to this. It is necessary to lend our voices and ensure that this particularly vulnerable, helpless and defenceless specie are adequately protected,” she said.

    According to her, in a bid to protect children, family courts have been established in the state.

    “In fact, a standard family court has been built in Abeokuta and there is a move to replicate same in other jurisdictions,” she said.

    Justice Olopade called for more action to end human trafficking.

    National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking In Persons (NAPTIP) Director-General Dame Julie Okah-Donli, represented by Mrs Kehinde Akomolafe, said the agency had, in the last 15 years of its existence, rescued 12,882 victims, received 5,882 cases, investigated 3,602 cases, secured 294 conviction cases and convicted 352 persons.

    Okah-Donli noted that the scourge had taken untold toll on the victims and the society at large.

    “Human trafficking, like every other epidemic has its negative attendant effects which create cracks and destabilises the society in which it exists, thereby facilitating its continuous proliferation,” she said.

  • NAPTIP renews fight against human trafficking

    Effective implementation of  Child Right Act by key stakeholders would help tame child labour across the country, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) said at the weekend in Lagos.

    The agency said it had started intensive advocacy with stakeholders to enhance nationwide domestication and the effective implementation of the Act.

    Its Director-General, Julie Okah–Donli, said the advocacy include interface with the National Assembly, governors, state Houses of Assembly, the judiciary, relevant professional bodies, diplomatic communities, the media, civil society organisations, international partners and other key stakeholders.

    She said: “NAPTIP as an agency created by the Federal Government for the protection of children from trafficking, child labour and abuse, has commenced purposeful advocacy across the country on the need to enhance the understanding and implementation of the Child Right Act.

    “It is sad to note that many individuals, organisations and even a group of people have continued to hide under one form of corporate protection or the other to abuse children.

    “I just received some concerned youths recently and their testimonies about the level of child abuse and violation by some highly placed individuals were heart breaking.

     

    “It has come to the knowledge of the Agency that even some of our children who were believed to be protected under the custody of revered educational institutions are the worst victims. It was gathered that administrators of those schools have continued to feast on the innocent children at will.”

    She said the worst scenario is the case of children rescued from some difficult environments due to insurgency who are further subjected to unimaginable level of sexual abuse and exploitation by the very personalities that have sworn to protect them.

    “The big question that is begging for answer is why is it that when there is a global economic recession and financial crunch, it is the child that is given out to work as domestic helpers and in hazardous places and he or she bears the brunt?

    Why is it that when there is a sexual desire within the family, it is the child that is sacrificed? This must change,” she said.

    She said NAPTIP has commenced a nationwide advocacy to drum support for the accelerated implementation and domestication of Child Rights Act across the country.

    “Already, we have kicked off consultations with stakeholders at all levels. Our operatives have been dispatched to those areas and establishments where the rights of Nigerian children are being taken for granted. These include those confined institutions, quarries, cocoa plantations and other areas,” she said.

    While calling on policy makers across the country to consider the plight of children when formulating policies, the Director–General called on children to always speak out when abused so that help can come their way speedily.

  • Obaseki mandates task force to eradicate human trafficking

    Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki has mandated the task force on Human Trafficking and Ilegal migration to eradicate these twin evil traits by 2020.

    Senior Special Adviser to the Governor on Human Trafficking and Illegal Migration Mr. Solomon Okoduwa told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Benin yesterday that the task force had, meantime, been mandated to reduce the menace by 50 per cent, before December.

    The aide spoke after the signing of the Anti-Human Trafficking Law by Obaseki in Abuja last Wednesday.

    He said the signing of the law, which was passed by the Assembly, would send a message to the traffickers that “it is no longer business as usual.’’

    Okoduwa said the signing showed the commitment of the government to stem the scourge.

    “It is a warning to the traffickers and their managers that when caught, they will be made to face the law.

    “We will ensure that the law works, to the letter. The governor has made it clear that there will be no mercy to whoever is caught violating the law.

    “This law will also strengthen the task force to deal with the menace of human trafficking.

    “The governor’s mandate is to eradicate human trafficking by 2020, and to reduce it by 50 per cent by end of the year.

    “To me, the mandate is clear and it is achievable as we remain on course towards the realisation,’’ he stressed.

    Okoduwa said the commitment of the governor was a pointer that human trafficking no longer had a place in Edo.

    He noted that the Benin monarch, Oba Ewuare II, and the government has demonstrated that the “business’’ no longer has a place in the state.

    “The Oba has condemned it by placing a curse on traffickers, while the government also condemned it by setting up a task force to stop the menace.’’

    NAN reports that Edo has been described as a hub for human trafficking and illegal migration, as the state accounted for more than half of returnees from Libya within the last eight months.

    According to Okoduwa, the returnees from Libya in Edo are 3,400.

  • Stopping the menace of Human Trafficking

    Human Trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the traffickers or others.

    This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extraction of organs or tissues, including for surrogacy and ova removal; it’s occurs within a country or trans-nationally.

    The recent repatriation of the denizens of our dear nation from countries like Libya, Spain, Italy etc., is a pointer to the fact that human trafficking have eaten deep into the moral, social and economic fabric of our country.

    There is an urgent need to curb this menace.

    Human Trafficking is a crime against the person because of the violation of the victims rights of movement through coercion and because of their commercial exploitation.

     According to the research made by the International Labour Organization ( ILO ) in 2012 was about 21million victims are trapped in modern day slavery, that 14.2 million (68%) were exploited for labor,4.5 million (22%) were sexually exploited and 2.2 million (10%) were exploited in state imposed forced labour.

    National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons ( NAPTIP ) as an agency is saddled with the onerous responsibility to bolster its tracking and monitoring apparatus in order to sanitise not only our physical space, but also the squalid mentality that breeds and encourages human trafficking and exploitation especially amongst the youths.

     

    TYPES OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING

    1. Children Trafficking
    2. Sex Trafficking
    3. Forced Marriage
    4. Labour Trafficking
    5. Trafficking for organ trade

       

    STRUCTURAL FACTOR

    1. Poverty & globalization
    2. Political & institution challenges
    3. Commercial demand for sex

     

    EFFECT ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING

    1. Psychological
    2. Health
    3. Societal
    4. Economic effect

    Below are some of the ways in which human trafficking can be prevented in our society:

    1. Pray
    2. Learn
    3. Read good books
    4. Express your concern to your political representatives
    5. Support local law enforcement
    6. Be responsible to consumers
    7. Be alert when traveling
    8. Trust your gut instincts
    9. Man up!
    10. Woman up!
    11. Speak up!
    12. Host a dinner
    13. Sponsor a child
    14. Get involved
    15. Protect by prevention
    16. Give
    17. Use your talents
    18. Set an example
    19. Think outside the box

    It is imperative we join forces and resources together as a people to stop human trafficking in our society. Governments should encourage and collaborate with private and nongovernmental organisations to educate and enlighten our citizens on the dangers of trying to cut corners in order to travel out of the country.