The Nation Newspaper

Tag: NAPTIP

  • NEMA urges state govts to rehabilitate Libyan returnees

    NEMA urges state govts to rehabilitate Libyan returnees

    National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has urged state governments of the federation to facilitate the rehabilitation of their indigenes, who voluntarily returned from Libya.

    The Director-General, NEMA, Alhaji Mustapha Maihajja, made the call in Lagos on Tuesday while receiving 142 Nigerians who voluntarily returned from Libya.

    Maihajja, who was represented by Alhaji Suleiman Yakubu, NEMA’s South-West Zonal Coordinator, stressed the need for every state to complement the efforts being made at the national and international levels to rehabilitate the returnees.

    The director-general, who noted that Edo and Osun had keyed into such the rehabilitation programme, called on more states to emulate them by offering assistance to the returnees from their states.

    Read also : 149 more Nigerians return from Libya

    Maihajja applauded the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the European Union (EU) for facilitating the repatriation of the returnees and also providing assistance for their rehabilitation.

    The returnees arrived  Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos at about 11.25p.m aboard a Nouvelair Airbus A320 aircraft with registration Number: TS-INA, comprising 52 adult females, 86 adult males, two children and two infants.

    The first batch of 245 returnees had earlier arrived at about 8.25p.m at the airport aboard an Afriqiyah Airbus 330-300 aircraft with registration Number 5A-ONR.

    The returnees were also received by officials of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).

    NAN

  • NAPTIP urges UN to probe death of 26 girls on Mediterranean sea

    The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), has urged the United Nation to begin the  immediate investigation into the death of 26 young girls reported to be Nigerians while crossing the Mediterranean Sea to Italy.

    NAPTIP, in a statement  in Abuja yesterday by its Head of Press and Public Relations, Josiah Emerole said the agency received the news with sadness and said the 26 girls were among the 375 migrants said to be aboard a Spanish Warship, Cantabria, which docked at the port in the southern Italian city of Salerno.

    The statement said: “The Director-General, Dame Julie Okah-Donli and the entire Management are saddened by this unfortunate occurrence which has cut short the lives of the young women in their prime and in very painful and suspicious circumstances.

    “The deaths are untimely and unwarranted.

    “What has happened is one of the negative effects of embarking on desperate, dangerous and illegal journeys in the guise of seeking for greener pastures abroad.

    “In the past few years, the Agency has mounted awareness campaigns against human trafficking and illegal migration and has consistently persuaded fellow citizens to resist any temptation of embarking on such dangerous and life threatening journeys through the desert and the Mediterranean Sea that can end up in organ harvesting, forced prostitution, domestic servitude, forced begging and death.

  • NAPTIP nabs housewife over sister in-law hot water burns

    NAPTIP nabs housewife over sister in-law hot water burns

    The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has arrested a 24-year-old housewife for allegedly pushing her sister-in-law into a pot of boiling water.

    The Head, Press and Public Relations Unit of NAPTIP, Mr Josiah Emerole, told  the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that the suspect pushed her sister-in-law, who is living with her into a pot of boiling water over a minor disagreement in the house.

    The victim, whose name was given as Hasiya Ibrahim, was reported to have suffered high degree burns before some good Samaritans rescued and took her to NAPTIP headquarters in Abuja.

    Emerole told NAN that the victim was under the custody of NAPTIP for medical attention.

    He said that the suspect was picked up on Oct. 19, and immediately the matter was reported to NAPTIP and was awaiting further investigation.

    He said the agency would decide the next line of action when investigations were concluded.

    Part of NAPTIP’s mission is to prevent all forms of human degradation and exploitation through law enforcement agents thereby uplifting the vulnerable, especially women and children.

  • NAPTIP arrests housewife for burning sister in-law with boiled water

    NAPTIP arrests housewife for burning sister in-law with boiled water

    The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), has arrested a 24-year-old housewife, Mrs Basira Sagiru, for pushing her sister-in-law into a pot of boiling water.

    The Head, Press and Public Relations Unit of NAPTIP, Mr Josiah Emerole, confirmed the arrest while speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Saturday.

    NAN reports that Sagiru pushed her sister-in-law, who is living with her into a pot of boiling water over a minor disagreement in the house.

    The victim, whose name was given as Hasiya Ibrahim, was reported to have suffered high degree burns before some good Samaritans rescued and took her to NAPTIP headquarters in Abuja.

    Emerole told NAN that the victim was under the custody of NAPTIP for medical attention.

    He said that the suspect was picked up on Oct. 19, and immediately the matter was reported to NAPTIP and was awaiting further investigation.

    He said the agency would decide the next line of action when investigations were concluded.

    NAN reports that part of NAPTIP’s mission is to prevent all forms of human degradation and exploitation through law enforcement agents thereby uplifting the vulnerable, especially women and children. (NAN)

  • NAPTIP seeks collaboration with Bayelsa govt to curb human trafficking

    The National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has appealed to Bayelsa State government to assist in reducing the high rate of human trafficking in the state.

    Mrs Julie Okar-Donli, director-general of NAPTIP, spoke ed when she visited Governor Seriake Dickson at the Government House, Yenagoa, yesterday.

    Okar-Donli said that the collaboration was crucial because Bayelsa provided source, transit and destination points for human trafficking.

    She said that human traffickers often use maritime routes to transport victims to other West African countries.

    The director-general said NAPTIP recently rescued 16 girls trafficked from Bayelsa to Ivory Coast for sexual exploitation, adding that the suspected human traffickers are facing prosecution.

    She said the agency got reports of the presence of migrant oil workers in Bayelsa, adding that the development posed a higher risk to girls who are being sexually exploited.

    According to her, NAPTIP also discovers that human traffickers now use victims they lure abroad, for organ transplant.

    Okar-Donli said that following the development, there was need for stakeholders to close ranks to stop human trafficking.

    The director-general described human trafficking as the third largest crime in the world.

    Responding, Dickson expressed surprise at the high prevalence of human trafficking in the state.

  • NDE, NAPTIP to train victims of human trafficking

    NDE, NAPTIP to train victims of human trafficking

    The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) has signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) to train and empower victims of human trafficking in the country.

    Director General of the NDE, Dr. Nasiru Mohammed Ladan Argungun said at the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) that the agency has the mandate to train all unemployed and vulnerable persons in the country and equip the, with the relevant skills

    According to Dr. Nasir Mohammed, the principal function of NDE as an apex job creation agency in the country is to train and empower the jobless and the vulnerable. “We have the mandate and capacity to train and empower all unemployed persons including trafficked persons for self-employment in various fields. If you have a centre or a collection point where victims of human trafficking are being counselled and rehabilitated, we shall move-in, train them on marketable skills and resettled them with starter-packs for better life”

    Director General of NAPTIP, Mrs Julie Donli Okah, said the need to assist victims of human trafficking in finding their feet in the society has become urgent and relevant to the success of NAPTIP as an agency. 

    According to the NAPTIP boss, ‘’we counsel and rehabilitate them but because of financial constraints, we have not been quite forthcoming in the area of Training and Resettlement.

    ‘’When we rehabilitate and cannot empower them, it becomes an effort in futility, it is a big challenge to NAPTIP and this is the reason we are happy that the NDE is coming to assist in this aspect’’

    It was gathered that the process towards the realization of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which was consummated by the signatures of the two Chief Executives started four months ago when the Director General, NDE and his management paid a courtesy call on the management of NAPTIP with the two agencies expressed the desire to collaborate in the promotion of self-employment and poverty reduction among victims of human trafficking in Nigeria.

    The objectives of the MoU among other things include ensuring that the victims are well trained in demand-driven skills of their choice and are empowered to establish their enterprises.

    With the signed MoU among, succour has come the way of all victims of human traffic especially those presented by NAPTIP. They are to be trained by the NDE and those who show a considerable level of commitment shall become business owners. Henceforth, the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), according to the Director-General, will on continual basis organize various short and long-term training schemes of between four and six months with stipends for the victims at the NAPTIP shelters all over the country.

    Upon the recommendation of prospective beneficiaries by NAPTIP after training, loans ranging between one hundred thousand (N100, 000.00) and five hundred thousand (N500, 000.00) naira are to be disbursed to the beneficiaries by the NDE. The loan package shall be of a single digit interest having a maximum tenor of three years including three months moratorium period.

  • NAPTIP: why we’re yet to prosecute human trafficking kingpins

    •’Those arrested, prosecuted are mere agents’
    •Agency rescued over 12,000 victims in last 14years

    The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has explained its inability to prosecute the real kingpins behind human trafficking.

    It said it is because the powerful forces behind the crime are mostly outside the country.

    The Director General Barrister Julie Okah-Donli stated Nigerians involved in the illicit trade are mere agents for the real traffickers outside the country.

    She argued that until the destination countries prosecute those involved in the crime, it would remain difficult to totally eradicate.

    She spoke during a courtesy visit to the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Abike Dabiri-Erewa at t     he Presidential Villa.

    Okah-Donli stressed the refusal of the destination countries to prosecute their gangs and confiscate their assets will continue to pose a serious challenge to the efforts of the agency to end human trafficking.

    The agency, she also, revealed has been able to rescue over 12,000 victims in the last 14 years.

    The NAPTIP boss said: “Nigerian is just a victim. It is not a wholly Nigerian problem when they came back to the countries, the destination countries will want to tell us that their nationals are not involved.

    “When I have meetings with them that is what they always say and a lot of people are not looking in that direction. When they said that, I always tell them what about their nationals?

    “They are criminal gang working with Nigerian agents. There is nowhere in the world where Nigerian will be operating freely, in Italy and the Italians are not involved.

    “But they told me they have not been able to identify any criminal gang.

    “These people find it so easy to get in. So how do they get there? So they need to begin to prosecute and convict their nationals.”

    Dabiri-Erewa assured of support to ensure Nigerians are properly educated about consequences of travelling abroad illegally.

  • NAPTIP arrests man for forcing teenager into prostitution

    The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has arrested one Ozigi Abdulkarim for allegedly luring his 19-year-old girlfriend into prostitution in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

    NAPTIP said in a statement issued on Thursday in Abuja by its Head of Press and Public Relations, Josiah Emerole, said the victim was recruited from Gwarimpa, Abuja, by Abdulkarim and two others – Ngozi Ani and Princewill James – for onward transfer to an alleged trafficking kingpin, Rita Ani, in the UAE.

    According to the agency, the suspects prepared the victim’s travel documents, took her to Ogbomosho, Oyo State, where an oath was administered on her before the journey

    It added that two other suspects – Benson Emmanuel and Philip Joshua – were associates of the other four and played one role or the other in the victim’s movement.

    It was learnt that when the victim arrived in Abu Dhabi, she was forced into prostitution for four years by Ani under  excruciating conditions, including “flogging and insertion of hot boiling ring into her private parts whenever she did not make enough money.”

    The suspects were arrested by operatives of NAPTIP in two operations in Gwarimpa, Abuja, and Ibadan, Oyo State.

    Rita, the prime suspect, who recently returned home to perform her traditional marriage rites preparatory to moving to the United Kingdom with her fiancé, was arrested in Ibadan by the newly established NAPTIP – Rapid Response Squad.

    The statement said: “NAPTIP has arrested six persons, including a 25-year-old Abu Dhabi based Rita Ani, for the trafficking of girls from Nigeria to the United Arab Emirates to engage in forced prostitution.

    “Rita belongs to a network of Nigerian traffickers based in Abu Dhabi who engaged Nigerian girls in international prostitution in that country.

    “The other five are Rita’s elder sister, Ngozi Ani (aka Princess), Ozigi Abdulkarim, Princewill James, Benson Emmanuel and Philip Joshua (aka OJ).

    “While investigations are ongoing, the suspects have made very useful statements concerning the case. Chinyere also confessed to having more girls working for her in the UAE. They will soon be charged.”

    The Director-General of NAPTIP, Julie Okah-Donli, commended the operatives for smashing the network, adding that the agency would smoke out human traffickers to face justice no matter their hideouts.

  • Human Trafficking: Obaseki seeks home-grown solution

    Human Trafficking: Obaseki seeks home-grown solution

    …Sets up Task Force

     

    The Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, on Tuesday inaugurated the State Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force, a measure that will proffer a new set of home-grown solutions to the age-long social problem.

    Obaseki lamented that the state was fast becoming synonymous with human trafficking and charged the taskforce to urgently redeem the state’s image as Edo people do not want to be associated with the stigma any more.

    The new measure according to him, would complement the efforts of the federal government through the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking In Persons (NAPTIP) and other international organizations involved in the fight against human trafficking.

    “It is has been suggested that a special court be established in the state to prosecute perpetrators. We are losing our young people to this negative trend and we must make human trafficking a thing of the past in the state,” the governor said.

    He charged the task force made up of representatives of security agencies, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), NAPTIP, Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government, religious and traditional institutions, to come up with modalities on how to domesticate the federal government’s law on trafficking in the state.

    The taskforce was also charged to come up with a comprehensive action plan for combating trafficking in persons as well as programmes that will help in reintegrating victims of the illicit trade into the society.

    In her remarks, the Chairman of the task force, Professor Yinka Omorogbe, who is also the Attorney General of the state, commended the governor for the initiative and said that it would bring an end to the problem, with the cooperation and support of all members of the society.

    She assured that members of the taskforce would live up to the confidence reposed on them and pledged that a working document would be ready within the six-week period given to them.

  • NAPTIP arraigns two human traffickers

    NAPTIP arraigns two human traffickers

    An Edo State Chief Magistrate has remanded in prison, two persons arraigned by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for alleged human trafficking.

    The suspects – Ufor Papa Samuel (38) and Gift Lawrence (26) – were arraigned on two -count charge of human trafficking contrary to sections 13(4) d and 14(5) of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015, respectively.

    They were accused of trafficking two girls to Mali before they were arrested for recruiting another girl.

    A statement signed by Benin Zonal Commander of NAPTIP, Nduka Nwanwenne, said the suspects were earlier granted administrative bail.

    Presiding Magistrate, C.E. Oghuma, however remanded the suspects to prison and adjourned sitting to September 15 for further hearing.