The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Human trafficking

  • Human trafficking generates $150b annually

    Acting United States  Consul General Dehab Ghebreab has urged the Federal Government to join the fight against human trafficking by implementing the United States (US) Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA).

    She said information provided by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has showed that the human trafficking industry generates up to $150 Billion globally every year.

    Ms Ghebreab, who spoke at a news conference in the Consulate Multipurpose Hall, Victoria Island, said the Act was aimed at monitoring the progress of countries in combating human trafficking through three tiers; to monitor countries that are implementing the Act, to aid countries that are making progress and to check countries that have not done enough.

    She said Nigeria, being in the second tier, should do more to stop the 21st century slavery.

    “Trafficking in persons is a challenge that we have globally and that is why the US government created the Act.  It does not only happen in poor countries, but in rich countries as well. The industry generates $150 billion annually… So we are looking for countries who consider this to be a profitable business,” Ghebreab said.

    She said the act would help to increase awareness of Human Trafficking in all its faces, help people to know how to protect themselves and their loved ones from being victims and bring the perpetrators to justice.

    According to Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking (ATEST) 2015, US President Barack Obama signed the reauthorization of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), in March, 2013, which reasserts the U.S. Government’s leadership role in the fight against modern-day slavery.

    TVPA renews critical federal anti-trafficking programs, provides invaluable resources for the provision of specialist services for survivors of human trafficking, grants prosecutors new tools to go after the traffickers and enhances partnerships with focus countries to protect children and prevent child trafficking.

    Meanwhile, Head of Research, National Agency for Prohibition of Traffic in Persons (NAPTIP), Mustapha Saadu revealed that Nigeria has recorded 258 convictions in human trafficking between 2004 and 2014, while many other cases are still in trial or investigations.

    He advised victims of the act to reach out to NAPTIP through the organisation’s hotline or website at www.naptip.gov.ng.

    Founder of a nongovernmental organisation targeted at human trafficking victims and survivors, The Enitan Story, Bukola Oriola, shared her survival story and advised Nigerians to pay more attention to situations around them to help victims and prevent themselves from falling victims.

    “Pay more attention to non-verbal cues because victims of human trafficking don’t always speak up but they give non-verbal cues. It is even more disturbing that human trafficking has become one of the fastest growing industries, generating billions of dollars. Although we hear more about women and girls as victims, the fact is that men and boys are also being trafficked, as perpetrators can also be women,” she advised.

    She wants Nigerians, especially youths to join her in a 4-day human trafficking tour at various Nigerian universities from Monday, 14th of this month.

     

  • ‘Human trafficking impedes economic development’

    Cable News Network (CNN) and award winning actress, Jada Pinkett Smith have partnered to work on a CNN Freedom Project Special Report to review how sex trafficking in the United States of America (USA) impedes economic development.

    In a project is  titled:  ‘Children For Sale: The Fight to End Human Trafficking, the team traveled to Atlanta, a trafficking hotspot,  to write special report meant to unravel the complicated web of human trafficking in the United States.

    The famed news network added that, the hour-long special report which airs Wednesday, July 22, 2015 at 2000 BST/ 2100 CET takes a look at the human trafficking industry in the United States, the lives of children caught in its web, and those fighting back against this form of modern-day slavery.

    Smith and CNN delved into the heart of this heinous crime, following undercover officers on raids and rescues of underage victims, accompanying aid workers on outreach missions, and spending time with the survivors in shelters as they share their harrowing stories.

    Smith said, “For me, this project is extremely important because I want the world to understand the dangers that every kid in America is susceptible to. Human trafficking is one aspect of the vulnerabilities and obstacles that we are confronted with. People who sell children are monsters.”

    Recalling her foray into activism, she said that sex trafficking hit her head-on when her then pre-teen daughter asked her about the crime in the United States. In disbelief, she began to research and is now a vocal activist and advocate.

    The news network said that questions like, Where does sex trafficking start? How do girls get manipulated into it? How hard is it for law enforcement and others to save them? And how can communities help protect children from the men and women who prey on their vulnerabilities? Will be answered in the report where Smith sits down with survivors who courageously share their horrifying stories of exploitation and the triumph of their survival.

    Also, Smith and CNN followed Sergeant Tory Kennedy, head of the Internet Crimes Against Children Division, as he conducted undercover raids to arrest suspected traffickers and rescue underage girls.

    Founder of a safe house and rehabilitation facility for trafficked teens, Lisa Williams is featured as Williams counsels the exploited teen highlighted in this special report while Smith also comes face-to-face with a convicted female trafficker. Viewers will also hear from aid workers and prosecutors who are working to eradicate this crime.

    ‘Children for Sale: The Fight to End Human Trafficking’ (CNN Freedom Project) was executive produced by Jennifer Hyde, the Director of the CNN Documentary Unit, produced by Senior Producer Ken Shiffman, Producer Tina Matherson, Executive Editor of the CNN Freedom Project Leif Coorlim, and overseen by Michael Bass, CNN’s Executive Vice President for Programming.

    CNN’s portfolio of news and information services is available in six different languages across all major TV, internet and mobile platforms reaching more than 395 million households around the globe.

     

  • Nigeria, Spain to sign MoU on illegal migration, trafficking

    Nigeria and Spain are working toward signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on “Illegal Immigration and Trafficking in Human Beings,’’ the Spanish Embassy in Nigeria said in a statement.

    The statement, issued in Abuja on Friday, said Amb. Alfonso Barnuevo disclosed this at a Document Forgery Course held at the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) headquarters in Abuja.

    The statement said that the course was organised by the Spanish Ministry of Interior for NIS staff.

    It noted that “Amb. Barnuevo acknowledged Nigeria’s efforts and serious determination to protect its borders and crackdown on human trafficking organised groups.

    “Barnuevo announced the intention of NIS, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and the Spanish Police to sign an MoU on Illegal Immigration and Traffic in Human Beings.’’

    The statement quoted Barnuevo as saying that the course was a sign of determination by Nigeria and Spain to jointly fight document fraud and human trafficking.

    “The course means a step forward in the cooperation between Nigeria and Spain and is a sign of joint efforts to fight document fraud and more broadly, human trafficking.’’

    It said the new edition of the course on document forgery was organised by the Attaché of the Ministry of Interior of Spain, Mr Alberto Alonso.

    The statement added that the closing ceremony was chaired by the Comptroller General of Immigration, Mr David Parradang.

  • Edo committed to eradication of human trafficking

    EDO State government has expressed its determination to eradicate human trafficking and other social vices prevalent in the society.

    Wife of the deputy governor, Deaconess Endurance Odubu made the assertion when she presented five sewing machines and five hair dryers on behalf of the state government and the Office of the First Lady to the management of the Benin office of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons (NAPTIP) and other related offences.

    Echoing similar sentiment, the Special Adviser on Special Duties, Hajia Maimuna Momodu, said the state government has always kicked against trafficking in persons, stressing that machines would not only equip the girls with skills, but also make them less vulnerable to social vices.

  • Empowering victims of human trafficking

    Empowering victims of human trafficking

    There have been so many campaigns against human trafficking all over the world. Unfortunately, the act continues with over 80 per cent of victims being women. This trade in humans is usually for the purpose of sexual slavery, forced labour, as well as commercial sex exploitation. In spite of the campaigns and international conventions, this violation of the victims’ rights is one of the fastest growing activities. A few years back, it represented an estimated $31.6 billion of international trade.

    It is therefore important for all hands to be on deck to curtail the trend. A former reporter, Bukola Oriola, is joining forces with the National Agency for The Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and Other Related Matters (NAPTIP) to educate Nigerians at home about the ordeal of human trafficking in the United States. In her 2015 Lagos upcoming week-long tour of public and private colleges, tagged, Bringing The Story Back Home, Oriola hopes to enlighten higher institution students as they are the armour bearers in the community. The event is planned to help them understand travelling abroad does not necessarily mean a better life or greener pasture, but that they should be aware of the challenges they or their loved ones may face in search of a better life.

    “The reason I have chosen this audience is because they are the youth and they are armour bearers in the community. They form the perfect niche to spread the message to the younger generation and also leverage it to the older folks in the community. More so, they are passionate and are talented, always looking for opportunities within and outside the country. It will be of immense help to this sub-group to understand the fact that going abroad by visa lottery, marriage, further education, or other means can be a potential trafficking trap,” Oriola stated.

    Oriola, who is a survivor of labour trafficking, has chronicled her experiences in form of a book entitled, Imprisoned: The Travails of a Trafficked Victim to both expose one of the ways that a person can become a victim and how victims can reach out for help. This tour, scheduled for September 2015, is not set to discourage the Nigerian youths from pursuing their dreams of finding opportunities abroad, but to equip them with adequate knowledge that will prevent them from becoming victims or finding help if they become victims of human trafficking.

    Oriola is also the founder and producer of the Enitan Story: Imprisoned Show. The Enitan Story is a local non-profit organisation in Minnesota, United States, with a mission to advocate for victims and empower survivors of human trafficking. Imprisoned Show is one of the organisation’s programmes dedicated to educating the public about human trafficking around the world. Since the launch of Imprisoned Show at one of the local TV stations in Minnesota, she has produced over 20 episodes featuring expert opinions, events, public presentations, students, members of the local law enforcement, non-profit organisations, attorneys and advocates to help victims reach out for help. “I believe that education is the greatest tool for preventing this heinous crime in our communities. One of the episodes on Imprisoned Show featured the Hubert Humphreys fellows at the University of Minnesota from Malaysia, Vietnam, and Nepal. Evaluating and discussing various forms of providing services, in addition to advocacy, will further help both government and nongovernmental efforts to effectively combat the crime. It was also documented as President Barak Obama’s accomplishments in fighting human trafficking in the United States in 2013.

    Oriola is a consultant for the Office of Victims of Crime (OVC) and was among the 20 survivors’ forum at the White House in January 2014, which was the National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month in the United States. The event, which was put together by the Office for Victims of Crime Training and Technical Assistance Centre (OVCTTAC) was the first of its kind event by the federal government to effectively engage the voices of survivors in its programme to provide a better life for victims and survivors of human trafficking in the United States. The government has rolled out a five-year strategic plan which was made public on January 14, 2014 at the Forum and Listening Session.

  • Human Trafficking: Bringing the story back home

    Human Trafficking: Bringing the story back home

    Former Education Reporter, Bukola Oriola is joining forces with the National Agency for The Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and Other Related Matters (NAPTIP) to educate Nigerians at home about the ordeal of human trafficking in the United States.

     

    In her 2015 Lagos upcoming week-long tour of public and private colleges, tagged, Bringing the Story Back Home, Oriola hopes to enlighten higher institution students as they are the armor bearers in the community.

    The event is planned to help them understand that traveling abroad does not necessarily mean a better life or greener pasture, but that they should be aware of the challenges they or their loved ones may face in search of a better life. “The reason I have chosen this audience is because they are the youth and they are armor bearers in the community. They form the perfect niche to spread the message to the younger generation and also leverage it to the older folks in the community.

    “More so, they are passionate and are talented, always looking for opportunities within and outside the country. It will be of immense help to this sub-group to understand the fact that going abroad by visa lottery, marriage, further education, or other means can be a potential trafficking trap,” Oriola stated.

    Oriola, who is a survivor of labor trafficking has chronicled her experiences in form of a book entitled, Imprisoned: The Travails of a Trafficked Victim to both expose one of the ways that a person can become a victim and how victims can reach out for help.

    “This tour, scheduled for September 2015 is not set to discourage the Nigerian youths from pursuing their dreams of finding opportunities abroad, but to equip them with adequate knowledge that will prevent them from becoming victims or finding help if they become victims of human trafficking,” she said.

    Oriola is founder, The Enitan Story and Producer, Imprisoned Show. The Enitan Story is a local nonprofit organization in Minnesota, United States with a mission to advocate for victims and empower survivors of human trafficking.

    Imprisoned Show is one of the organization’s programs dedicated to educating the public about human trafficking around the world. Since the launch of Imprisoned Show at one of the local TV stations in Minnesota, she has produced over 20 episodes featuring expert opinions, events, public presentations students, members of the local law enforcement, nonprofit organizations, attorneys and advocates to help victims reach out for help. “I believe that education is the greatest tool for preventing this heinous crime in our communities. One of the episodes on Imprisoned Show featured the Hubert Humphreys fellows at the University of Minnesota from Malaysia, Vietnam, and Nepal. Evaluating and discussing various forms of providing services, in addition to advocacy, will further help both government and nongovernmental efforts to effectively combat the crime. It was also documented as President Barak Obama’s accomplishments in fighting human trafficking in the United States in 2013.

    Oriola is a consultant for the Office of Victims of Crime (OVC) and was among the 20 survivors’ forum at the White House in January 2014, which was the National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention month in the United States.

    The event, which was put together by the Office for Victims of Crime Training and Technical Assistance Center (OVCTTAC), was the first of its kind by the federal government to effectively engage the voices of survivors in its program to provide a better life for victims and survivors of human trafficking in the United States.

    The government has rolled out a five year strategic plan which was made public on January 14, 2014 at the Forum and Listening Session. A documentary featuring Oriola among other survivors was completed recently and will be used to train service providers, federal and state agencies, nongovernmental organizations and the general public about the issue, using real life people and not actors to pass the message across in a way that will fully engage everybody.

    You can learn more about Oriola’s by watching some of the episodes of Imprisoned Show online at www.imprisonedshow.com. The Enitan Story’s website is www.enitan.org, and her official website is www.bukolaoriola.com.

     

     

  • Human trafficking: Nigerians premiere film in London

    Human trafficking: Nigerians premiere film in London

    A movie re-enactment of the endemic human trafficking vice, among Africans, has opened at the popular Odeon Cinema, London.

    The flick, St. Mary, provides another insight into capital flight, forced labour and commercial sexual exploitation. The film could have been positioned as a subtle campaign for Nigerians and other Africans in the Diaspora.

    Produced by Obi Osotule and directed by Matthias Obahiagbon, the 110-minute movie follows the story of Tejiri, who uncovers a massive web of conspiracy on human trafficking and crime on board    St.           Mary, an oil vessel on voyage bound for Amsterdam. The movie also narrates the story of Nonye who gets lured by a Facebook confidant and friend into a seeming breakthrough in her singing career. Her excitement banishes caution and her world is thrown into a spiralling string of turmoil and disaster. She lands in a cabal’s dragnet stripping her away from the safety of family and imposing a terrifying adventure amidst her pleas for survival.

    The movie also exposes the exploits of Don Daddy, an epitome of success whose massive business empire is built on extraction and sales of human organs. His tentacles spread out to the frontiers of establishment and he lives his fairy tale life in all the perks of comfort with a consortium of agents luring young girls with a promise of better life in Europe until he attracts the petit framed daughter of Prof. Ojukwu whose search pulls Don Daddy’s empire down.

    Featuring some of Nollywood’s top-rated actors such as Zack Orji, Ekpeyong Bassey-Inyang, Frank Dallas, Benjamin Joseph, Scott Roberts, Benita Nzeribe, Paul Obazele and Ibinabo Fiberesima, the Executive Producer of the movie Darlington Agha disclosed that the movie will premiered in the United States and Australia after the London premiere. He also disclosed plans to have the movie premiered in Kenya and Uganda before a grand premiere in Nigeria.

    ‘Human trafficking is a worldwide phenomenon, so it is not out of place to embark on a world tour with the movie so that people can learn from the narrative. So we will take it round and then hold a grand premiere in Nigeria where the movie was shot’’ Agha said.

  • Tackling menace of human trafficking

    Every year, the world faces the scourge of human trafficking which traumatizes the existence of man and threatens global development. A 2004 US State Department’s data reveals that more than 800,000 women and children are trafficked yearly across the world. Similarly, United Nations (UN) statistics indicates that 4million human beings are trafficked globally and domestically on a yearly basis.

    Women and children account for 80% of cases of human trafficking. It has reached such a widespread level that the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime was adopted by the UN General Assembly resolution 55/25 of 15th November, 2000, as the main international instrument in the fight against transnational organized crime. Nigeria and other nations are signatories to this UN Conventions and other Protocols such as Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). These Conventions guarantee right to liberty of movement and freedom to choose one`s residence, right to a decent work, right to freedom from slavery, right against torture and /or submission to other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

    The UN depicts human trafficking as the conscription, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercive methods, 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. This universal boom of forced labour, human trafficking and violation of women and children’s rights is quite disturbing. It is a contemporary form of slavery, which regrettably, is being aided by technology, communication and transportation as well as high global demand for cheap labour and commercial sex workers. Consequently, tackling such a growing illicit industry demands better strategies because of its well organized structure.

    In-spite of available domestic and global legal instruments, human trafficking has remained a profitable venture which conventionally rakes in huge earnings of about $10 billion annually. Like it is with drug trafficking, our nation is highly ranked in the business of human trafficking, serving as origination, transition and destination points. At the moment, many Nigerian women and girls are being ferried abroad under various pretexts only to end up as prostitutes, domestic servants, slaves and destitute. Not only is Nigeria a major base for human trafficking to Europe, America and Asia, it is also an intermediary point for some West Africa countries such as Benin Republic, Togo, Sierra Leone, Ghana and Mali among others. Within the country, the bulk of household servants are under aged children recruited from such States as of Akwa Ibom, Cross Rivers, Ebonyi, Kano and Kaduna.

    Concerned by the rising drift of human trafficking in the country, the Federal Government established the National Agency for Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and other related Matters (NAPTIP) in 2003. The Agency, a creation of Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Law Enforcement and Administration Act, 2003, is the Federal Government’s official response to tackling the blight of human trafficking. It also fulfils the country’s international obligation under the trafficking in persons protocol supplementing the Transnational Organized Crime Convention (TOC) of which Nigeria is a signatory. In 2010, NAPTIP recorded 5000 victims, provided care for 1,109 human trafficking victims and prosecuted over a hundred cases. Sadly, this act really undervalues the scale of human trafficking issue in Nigeria.

    To truly deal with the scourge in Nigeria, Federal Government needs to put up a data base that provides universal details and methodical examination of human trafficking cases in the country. It is only in doing this that we can really evolve a structure for the precise breakdown that is required in limiting the current trend of human trafficking in the country. Likewise, government ought to wield sufficient political will to execute human trafficking laws in such a way that discourages the usual custom of sacred cows in the country. Equally, there is a serious need for the law to be strengthened in order to avoid being unduly exploited by the high and the mighty.

    Governments across the country need to execute policies that will ensure that the vulnerable in the society are not in any way manipulated by the powerful people. This is why it is vital that all levels of government in the country evolve programmes that would economically empower different categories of Nigerians, especially those that are more likely to be victims of human trafficking.

    Aside this, every agency involved in policing the nation’s international and local borders need to be re-oriented and efficiently empowered to perform this onerous and sacred duty. It has been claimed, in some quarters, that the porous nature of our borders is partly responsible for the current state of insecurity in the country. This must be addressed. Considering its nature as the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria, and indeed West Africa, Lagos, without doubt, has its own experience of this inhuman business. However, in its characteristic systematic approach to issues, the State Government has evolved an holistic strategy to tackle this menace headlong. For one, it has put in place several empowerment schemes for different categories of Lagosians in order to forestall the idle hands syndrome. There are several skill acquisition centres across the state where women and children could acquire useful skills that would make them become economically independent and therefore, less susceptible to exploitation.

    Additionally, the State has on ground a structure for the rehabilitation of casualties of human trafficking, rape, child abuse, domestic violence and other related evils. This, it has done with the establishment of the Home for Victims of Domestic violence and Human Trafficking in Ayobo, Ipaja area of the state. At the home, victims of several inhuman treatments are provided with conducive environment that serves as ‘home away from home. The home offers them free medical services, food, clothing and, perhaps, more significantly, an opportunity to surmount their ordeal. To stem the tide of human trafficking and other such dastardly acts, the State is currently implementing a well planned public education drive across the state, making use of various media.

    To say human trafficking is criminal is begging the issue because it is dehumanizing, it is evil. It is man’s inhumanity against man and thus, requires a louder voice against it and a more concerted effort to stop it. It is utterly confounding and shows an absolute lack of conscience that anyone could consider trading in fellow human beings as a means of livelihood. We must, therefore, not subject our world to a second form of slavery as a famous American actor, D’Andre Lampkin once said, because to look away and pretend that it is a small problem, is to encourage the perpetrators to be more vicious in this heinous act. God bless Nigeria.

    • Ibirogba is the Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy.

  • How to tackle human trafficking, by experts

    How to tackle human trafficking, by experts

    HUMAN trafficking, sex labour and child abuse, among others, topped discussions at the Third International Law  Conference for Women and Children in Lagos last week. Those who spoke included lawyers and human rights activists.

    The Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji, said of all criminal activities, human trafficking alone was estimated to generate $9.5 billion yearly worldwide.

    Quoting statistics from the United States Bureau of Investigation, Ikuforiji, while declaring open the event in Victoria Island, Lagos, said further that reports indicated that the illegal industry was the second largest criminal industry in the world, next to arms and ammunition.

    He said: “This industry, according to the United Nations Development Fund For Women and the United Nations Interagency Project on Human Trafficking, especially sex trafficking appears to be growing in scope and magnitude, with increasing number of countries involved and the relative ease with which traffickers are able to do the business.”

    Ikuforiji said no fewer than 800,000 women and children are trafficked across border yearly.

    He regretted that the people who engage in the business of transporting and selling women and children for cheap labour only look at the financial gains, not the socio-economic consequences of their actions.

    “While the problem varies from one country to the other, one constituent pattern is that these victims are engaged in sex labour, forced marriage, factory works with ridiculous remunerations,” he noted.

    The speaker described ‘human trafficking’ as  ‘new slavery’, because “it has many of the same characteristics of a slave-master relationship. In the new slavery, women and children are purchased cheaply and sold to customers at a high profit margin”.

    Ikuforiji lamented that Nigeria is one of the many countries that do not have stringent anti-trafficking laws adding, “even when legislations are in place, they are not often well enforced. It has been the system that cases of human trafficking are not prosecuted and those that are prosecuted have not resulted in convictions, like other cases that bear on infringements on rights of the people”.

    He recalled that the National Assembly passed a Human Trafficking Law to end the nefarious activities of the merchants,  whether it is in trafficking of children or women. “But I have not seen or heard any conviction of perpetrators since the human trafficking bill was signed into law at the federal land,” he added.

    He further recalled that the Lagos State House of Assembly, put in place some laws to curb the menace, including the “ Lagos State Domestic Violence Law 2007, and Child Rights Law of 2007”.

    He, however, feared that these laws, the Child’s Rights Law and the Domestic Violence Law, might were inadequate to confront this illegal trade.

    Ikuforiji said he has  consulted with his colleagues in the house on the need to explore the legal aspects of trafficking in women and children by domesticating the Human Trafficking Law of the federation in Lagos.

    “It is believed that doing so will go a long way in tightening noose on the traffickers and killing the trade entirely.

    “As legislators and government, we must take the bull by the horn to ensure that our people, especially the women and the children, are shielded from this onslaught,” he added.

    He appealed to the Executive arm of Government to rise above sentiments and rid the society of a scourge that is ravaging the polity so that we can live a better and prosperous life.

    Executive Secretary, National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and Other Related Matters (NAPTIP), Mrs Beatrice Jedy-Agba, said no fewer than two million people were trafficked across the world yearly.

    She spoke on challenges in addressing the prevalence of trafficking in Nigerian women and children: the NAPTIP experience.

    She identified ignorance, illitracy and poverty as factors responsible for the menace.

    Jedy-Agba, who was represented by NAPTIP Intelligence Officer, Mr Josiah Emereole, said poor social-economic rights of women and child made them to be more susceptible as the most vulnerable group in the society.

    According to her, between 750,000 and one million people were trafficked within and outside the country yearly. She lamented that 80 per cent of young women in prostitution in Italy are Nigerians.

    Jedy-Agba said human trafficking is prevalent in every state, but that the vice is endemic in 22 states.

    The process of trafficking, she said, began with the abduction or recruitment of a person and continue with transportation, adding that people should report any of such cases to the appropriate authorities.

    She said porous borders, lack of commitment, data and inadequate funds were challenges faced by NAPTIB to curb trafficking.

    Jedy-Agba said everybody should join hands to fight the menace. “Those who are involved in human trafficking should be reported and appropriate action taken,” she added.

    A social worker, Ifeyinwa Mbakogu at the School of Social Work, McGill University, Montreal, Canada, said about 15 million children in Nigeria were engaged in child labour because of human trafficking.

    Mbakogu spoke on the topic: Ears wide open: What do Nigerian children’s story about their trafficking experiences tell us about the causes of trafficking in Nigeria?

    She said: “Forty per cent of that figure was those trafficked within and externally.”

    Mbakogu berated the government for not making education free, stressing that most poor students usually don’t further their education after the completion of their Junior Secondary School (JSS) because they couldn’t afford to pay for books and other items.

    All those who spoke on the vice were unanimous that to end the menace would require concerted efforts from everybody to fashion a way forward to nip the menace, which has demeaned the people, in the bud.

     

  • NBA President, others condemn human trafficking

    Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President Okey Wali (SAN) has condemned human trafficking, describing it modern day slavery.

    He told The Nation after attending the session on “Human trafficking, a modern day slavery” at the International Bar Association (IBA) conference in Boston, Massachusetts, United States that urgent steps were needed to address the menace.

    He said: “This is a very bad and a highly condemnable act. It is indeed a terrible issue that requires urgent steps to address. It should indeed be a matter of concern to all humanity and governments. We must galvanise our efforts and resources to fight it.”

    A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Damian Dodo, said only those without conscience can traffic their fellow humans like goods and merchandise in this age and time.

    He said: “I am a former chairman of the board of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking In persons (NAPTIP) and it was my mandate to fight against trafficking in persons. So I made it a priority to attend this session, it was indeed a very good session, a very enlightening session.

    “As far as the issue of human trafficking was concerned, the world truly knows the various dimensions. What is crucial at this point is the commitment of governments to the efforts, not only to prevent it, but to make sure that it is eradicated.

    “All over the world, this is a major challenge and more so for us in Nigeria, the government must be commended in taking the first step to establish an agency with the specific mandate.

    “What is crucial now is the political support from government in terms of funding, which was a major challenge for us at the agency. This crime of which Nigeria has gone notorious is a national embarrassment and it time for the government to give greater attention to it.”

    Former Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS) Director of Research Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye said trafficking in persons was on the rise because an average young Nigerian is discontented with his country.

    “They always think that anywhere else but Nigeria is better and so, our citizens, the young ones, the women, the children are highly prone to trafficking, to smuggling, to illegal migrations and they become case studies for a lot of the negative things that we see in these international meetings.

    “For example, you will be shocked to learn that Nigerians get trafficked to places like Mexico, Nicaragua, Colombia, just to come to the United States and sometimes unfortunately for them, they end up in those places.

    “I know that because of this discontent, because of over population, because there is a link between all these things and poverty, our country always features negatively in global reports. Our country has been a tier two country. The USA classifies countries into tiers and Nigeria has not been able for a while to move out of the range of high risk countries,” he said.

    On how trafficking affects Nigeria, Owasonoye said it manifests in stiff visa regulation, even though the countries that you interact with will not directly link the country’s position in the human trafficking metrics with the visa regulations.

    “But once they see a large number of citizens from a country who are being illegally and criminally trafficked, it is an indicator that many more who are not going that way will likely falsify documents, will falsify papers and try to emigrate through official channels. So, there is a link which officially may not be discussed but it is always there.”

    A lawyer Marc Enamhe said human trafficking has taken such a dangerous dimension.

    “The major problem is poverty. Because of poverty, most people are lured into it. Government needs the willpower to attack this problem frontally and punish the perpetrators as a deterrent to others. We must not fight this modern slavery with kid gloves.”