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Tag: National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP)

  • NEMA receives 149 Nigerians from Libya

    The National Emergency Management Agency ( NEMA ) has received 149 Nigerians who voluntarily returned from Libya.

    The returnees arrived the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. aboard a chartered flight operated by Buraq Airline with registration number 5A-DMG.

    The aircraft landed at about 10:45 p.m. at the Cargo Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

    The returnees comprised of 107 male adults, 37 female adults including a medical case, four female children and one female infant.

    Mr Abrham Tamrat, the Programme Manager of International Organisation for Migration (IOM), Lagos, handed the returnees over to Alhaji Yakubu Suleiman, the South West Zonal Coordinator of NEMA.

    Suleiman thanked the IOM and the European Union ( EU ) for facilitating the repatriation of the Nigerians who had been stranded en route from Libya to Europe.

    Yakubu admonished the returnees to shun the urge of seeking greener pastures outside the country.

    He said that all nations in the world were facing various challenges as a result of global economic meltdown.

    The coordinator said the Nigerian economy had exited recession due to the ingenuity of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, adding that they should join hand in building the country.

    “Nigeria has more than enough resources to cater for our needs but it is left for every one of us to tap from any of these abundant resources,” Suleiman said.

    He assured them that both the Federal and state governments had lots of incentives for their rehabilitation and reintegration to complement the efforts of EU and IOM.

    Also speaking, Tamat said the IOM had assisted over 7,000 Nigerians back from Libya under the voluntary return assistance programme and would continue to assist persons who indicate interest to return.

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

    The telecommunications company, Airtel, in collaboration with the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Diaspora and Foreign Affairs, also gave the returnees free mobile cellphones and sim cards to facilitate their reintegration.

    NAN

  • ‘NAPTIP rescues 13,000, rehabilitates 8,000 trafficked persons’

    Dame Julie Okah-Donli, Director-General, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons ( NAPTIP ), said no fewer than 13,000 trafficked persons have been rescued by the agency.

    Okah-Donli disclosed this in an interview with our correspondent in New York at the premiere of a movie about human trafficking in Nigeria.

    The movie, ‘Mrs Adams’, which premiered at the Nigeria House, came at a time Nigerians and Africans were taking the perilous Mediterranean Sea route to Europe, and was produced by Queen Blessing Itua.

    “So far, we’ve rescued over 13,000 victims, we’ve prosecuted about 339 traffickers and we’ve rehabilitated about 8,000 victims as well,” she said.

    According to her, the prostitution trade, which draws its recruits mainly from human trafficking, is estimated at roughly 150 billion dollars business.

    She, however, cautioned Nigerians against referring to trafficked persons as prostitutes, saying they are victims, not criminals adding “a prostitute works for herself and cuts the shots”.

    “But somebody who is sexually exploited does not work for herself, she work for someone else; she does not even have the freedom or access to the money”.

    She said many victims were scared to talk because most traffickers were known to them – family friends, boyfriends, brothers, fear of reprisals or death because of sworn oath.

    “Some of them came back with all sorts of conditions – some treatable, some untreatable, some with hepatitis, HIV, some with full-blown AIDS,” she said, adding many of the victims has psychological problems.

    “A lot of them come back mentally sick and so we have to refer them to the mental hospitals because they were traumatised, they’ve been beaten, raped and used.”

    Okah-Donli regretted that while NAPTIP tried to arrest the perpetrators, they sometimes connived with some law enforcement officers, who were supposed to protect the victims, and allowed them to escape.

    According to her, NAPTIP is making a case to ensure that NAPTIP officials are at the airports and borders to check such abuses.

    She said human trafficking involved recruitment, transporting and harbouring of human beings to exploit them sexually, for forced labour or for the purpose of organ harvesting through force, deceit, abduction, or fraud.

    She accused destination countries of irregular migrants of corruption at the detention centres, saying that is where people go to buy them for organ harvesting, sexual exploitation and forced labour.

    The NAPTIP chief, in an emotion-laden narrative, decried the rampant cases of organ harvesting, whereby people waiting for transplant went to the ‘black markets’ to buy the organs.

    “People buy men, women, boys and girls, and use them for sexual purposes or for taking their organs off them and using them for whatever purpose or sell them outrightly.”

    She said the Federal Government was responding to trafficking in persons through the domestication of the UN Convention on Transnational Organised Crimes and establishment of NAPTIP, among others.

    Okah-Donli added that trafficked persons, when rescued by NAPTIP, were counselled, treated, some went back to school while some were trained in skills acquisition programmes.

    “For us, ‘prevention is better than cure’. We try to prevent by sensitising everyone and of course we are trying to change the mindset of our youth who think that anything outside Nigeria is the best.

    “They think when they go abroad, there’s work waiting for them, there’s money everywhere. So we’re trying to make them believe, first of all, in their country and in themselves.”

    The NAPTIP chief said the Federal Government was signing bilateral agreements with the various countries of destination adding,  it planned to sign mutual legal assistance with all the endemic countries.

    NAN reports that another book, authored by Itua, ‘We are the Blessings of Africa’, which stressed the urgent need to change the perception about Africa adding, was also launched at the event.

    It was attended by Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Prof. Tijjani Bande, his Deputy, Amb. Samson Itegboje, and Senior Special Assistant to the Wife of the President, Dr Hajo Sani.

    Others were Nigeria’s Consul-General in New York Tanko Suleiman, representative of the Minister of Women Affairs, governors’ wives, commissioners for women affairs, and the civil society organisations.

    NAN

  • NAPTIP arrests 11 suspected child traffickers, recovers children

    NAPTIP arrests 11 suspected child traffickers, recovers children

    The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons ( NAPTIP ) on Wednesday said it arrested 11 persons over suspected child trafficking, abduction and sale of children in Anambra.

    Mr Josiah Emerole, the NAPTIP Head of Press and Public Relations, said this in a statement in Abuja.

    Emerole stated that the suspects were nabbed in different parts of Anambra in a combined operation carried out with the support of operatives of Directorate of the State Services (DSS).

    He noted that the suspects, comprising eight women and three men, were said to belong to a criminal syndicate which specialised in kidnapping and sale of babies across the country, notably the States of the South-East, Lagos and Abuja.

    The spokesperson disclosed that three children whose ages range from eight months to four years were recovered during the operation, while scores of other children believed to be trafficked by the gang were yet to be found.

    According to him, among the children is a two-year-old girl reportedly stolen from Lagos sometime ago and another four-year-old boy allegedly stolen from his parents in Gudaba in FCT.

    He added that the boy’s parents were yet to be traced to collect the child.

    “The parents of the eight months old child are yet to be traced, while the two years old child whose four year old brother is yet to be recovered has been identified by her parents.

    “The baby was stolen from Okpoko in Anambra and recovered in Lagos.”

    He said one of the arrested suspects, Rosemary Okafor (30 years old) allegedly sold one of her four children, a newborn baby, to one woman simply identified as Madam Pink at the cost of N350,000.

    Emerole noted that the suspect confessed to have sold the baby to be able to train the other three in school.

    He stated that the suspects were in custody of the Enugu Zonal Command of NAPTIP, while the rescued children and the remaining three children of Rosemary Okafor’s victims were presently receiving required services at the agency’s shelter.

    He, however, added that investigation was ongoing and the culprits would
    be prosecuted accordingly after investigation.

    NAN

  • Human trafficking: NAPTIP hands over 17 victims to relatives

    Human trafficking: NAPTIP hands over 17 victims to relatives

    The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons ( NAPTIP ) says it has handed over 17 victims of the 18 intercepted at a clinic in Maitama, Abuja to their relatives.

    The Head of Press and Public Relations, Mr Josiah Emerole said this in Abuja on Wednesday.

    Emerole explained that out of the 18 persons, 17 of them were victims of human trafficking while the remaining one person held by his agency was a suspected agent.

    We recall that the Abuja Environmental Protection Board ( AEPB ) intercepted 18 suspected victims of human trafficking at a clinic in Maitama on Feb. 22 before it handed them over to NAPTIP.

    Mr Muktar Ibrahim, Head of Information and Outreach of AEPB had explained that 18 women were apprehended at a clinic and diagnostic centre in Maitama around 8 p.m. by a team of AEPB officials on night patrol.

    The women, who were purportedly on their way to Saudi Arabia, were allegedly directed by their traffickers to conduct some medical tests before they embarked on the journey.

    The NAPTIP’s spokesperson said that the agency handed the victims over to their relatives with a condition to provide them whenever they were needed as the case was still under investigation.

    He said that the agent was still being held by NAPTIP while the suspected traffickers were at large.

    According to him, his agency will do everything possible to arrest the suspects and bring them to book.

    Emerole noted that none of the victims had valid documents including international passports.

    He said that nine of the victims were from Kano state, four from Katsina, two from Nasarawa, two from Kwara and one from Jigawa state.

    NAN

  • Human trafficking: NAPTIP rescues 14 victims at Nnamdi Azikiwe airport

    Human trafficking: NAPTIP rescues 14 victims at Nnamdi Azikiwe airport

    The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons ( NAPTIP ) has rescued 14 victims at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

    The Head of Press and Public Relations of NAPTIP, Mr Josiah Emerole, told our reporter in Abuja on Thursday that the operation followed a tip off.

    Emerole explained that the victims, who were rescued around the mosque at the airport, comprised of 14 women and two men.

    “Officers of NAPTIP, following a tip-off, intercepted a group of 14 women between the ages of 15-60 years travelling to Saudi Arabia via the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

    “The two agents from Kano who accompanied them on the trip had been arrested and detained by the Nigeria Immigration Service and the Department of State Services as investigation is ongoing.

    “The interception and arrest of two agents travelling with the women came as a result of a patriotic Nigerian’s observations of the women’s movement and activities at the airport.

    “It is unclear yet as to the purpose of their trip to Saudi Arabia, though, in recent time, there have been increasing reports of exploitation being experienced by labour migrants in countries in the Middle East,” he said.

    Emerole assured that NAPTIP would leave no stone unturned in ensuring that more Nigerians do not end up as victims of exploitative domestic servitude in foreign countries.

    He said that the victims were being profiled at the NAPTIP headquarters to ascertain their proper and correct identities.

    NAN checks revealed that that the suspects wanted to take the victims to their destination in Saudi Arabia through Abuja en-route Lagos before they were nabbed at the Abuja airport.

    NAN

  • Woman arraigned for pouring step-son hot water

    Woman arraigned for pouring step-son hot water

    An Abuja woman, Khadija Yahaya has been arraigned by National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for pouring hot water on her step-son.

    Yahaya who allegedly dipped the two hands of her two years old step-son Abubakar Yahaya into boiling water was slammed with a two count charge and arraigned before a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory sitting in Bwari, Abuja presided over by Justice A. O. Musa.

    In a statement by Adekoye Vincent, for Head, Press and Public Relations Unit NAPTIP, he stated.

    “National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has arraigned the controversial 30 year-old housewife, Khadija Yahaya for allegedly dipping two hands of a 2-year old boy, Abubakar Yahaya into boiling water thereby causing him serious harm. The victim is her step son.

    “The accused was slammed with a two – count charge and arraigned before a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory sitting in Bwari, Abuja presided over by Justice A. O. Musa.

    “It would be recalled that NAPTIP had arrested the woman said to be the second wife of the husband, Mr. Yahaya following a tip off from concerned Nigerians.

    “The charges read “That you Khadijat Yahaya (F) 30 years old of Block industry, opposite ECWA Church, Chukuku, Kuje Area Council , Abuja on or about the 12th of December, 2017, at Block Industry Opposite ECWA Church, Chukuku, Kuje Area Council, Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Hounourable Court, used harmful liquid to wit boiling water (Hot) water on Abubakar Yahaya ‘m’ 2 years old of Block Industry, Opposite ECWA Church, Chukuku, Kuje Area Council Abuja by dipping his two hands and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 21 (1) of the Violence Against Persons Act 2015”

    “That you Khadijat Yahaya (F) 30 years old, of Block Industry, Opposite ECWA Church, Chukuku, Kuje Area Council, Abuja, on or about 12thDecember, 2017, at Block Industry, Opposite ECWA Church, Chukuku, Kuje Area Council, Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, willful inflicted physical injury on Abubakar Yahaya ‘m’ 2 years old of Block Industry, Opposite ECWA Church, Chukuku, Kuje Area Council, Abuja by dipping his two hands inside boiling water which caused full thickness burn on his two hands and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 2(1) of the Violence Against Persons Act 2015”

    “The accused pleaded not guilty to the charges and was subsequently granted bail in surety of N500, 000 (Five Hundred Thousand Naira).”

  • Libyan slavery: Reps’ panel rues lack of  inter-agency collaboration 

    Libyan slavery: Reps’ panel rues lack of  inter-agency collaboration 

    The House of Representatives has identified lack of inter-agency collaboration as largely responsible for the migration of Nigerians abroad through illegal routes.

    According to the lawmakers, the spate of illegal migration through the desert eventually encouraged the slavery incidence recently uncovered in Libya.

    At a meeting between Committees on Foreign Affairs and Human Rights and stakeholders Wednesday, the lawmakers said the situation in Libya has made it imperative to find ways of addressing the situation.

    At the meeting were the Nigeria Head of Mission, Libya, Iliyah Fachano as well as officials of Department of State Services (DSS), National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), the National Human Rights Commission and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

    The joint Committee was mandated by the House to unravel circumstances that led to the death of 26 Nigerian girls at the Mediterranean Sea.

    Chairman of the joint Committee, Nnenna Elendu-Ukeje said following the disturbing report from Libya, the country must find ways of addressing the situation.

    Saying that lack of inter-agency collaboration among the various security agencies in the country was a major reasons for illegal migration of Nigerians to other countries, Elendu-Ukeje noted, “A situation where many of them either end up been killed or enslaved such as the recent revelation in Libya as reported by the Cable News Network (CNN) which has drawn worldwide condemnation.”

    Deputy Chairman of the joint Committee, Edward Pwajok, said security agencies in the country have to come out with a lasting solutions to the menace of human trafficking and illegal migration.

    In his remarks, The Head of the Nigerian Mission in Libya, Fachano said that the Libyan situation was not new, that it had long been in existence.

    The role of some Nigerians who were living in Libya was described as despicable as they were found culpable of being actively involved in selling off their kinsmen.

    They also said being a State with an unstable government contributed largely to the situation

    While the committee continues its findings, it requested more submissions on the situation in Libya by the various agencies.

  • Oduah asks FG to tackle ‘modern slavery’

    Oduah asks FG to tackle ‘modern slavery’

    The Chairman, Senate Committee on Cooperation and Integration, Sen. Stella Oduah, has called on the federal government to nip in the bud, the resurgence of slavery in parts of Africa.

    Oduah, who made the call in Abuja on Monday described the resurgence as  a “time bomb,’’ saying the development was a dangerous trend that should be treated with the seriousness it deserved by all African leaders.
    According to her,  if not aggressively tackled, the situation, which was already forcing victims into prostitution and different forms of crime, could lead to more heinous crimes that may be difficult to handle.
    Oduah said that the present trend was more worrisome because the victims, in most cases, willingly embarked on the dangerous journey and ended up being sold into slavery.

     

    “It is something no one contemplates should happen to anyone in the present age. You will think that slave trade having been abolished all these centuries should not start again, clearly not from Africa.
    “You wonder what would have made a young man or woman to commence on such trip that is so suicidal. You do not know what is at the other side but not deterred to take that journey.

     

    “It is a very frightening thing for anybody to think about, but worst part is that the young men and women doing it appear to be bent on doing so. Unfortunately, they do so because they see it as an avenue of survival and a way of getting to a greener pasture,’’ she said.
    The senator called on all African leaders to rise to the occasion by creating enabling environment that would discourage their citizens from embarking on such dangerous journeys.

    Read Also: ‘Libyan slave market’ footage sparks global fury

    She also urged the Federal Government to put adequate measures in place to create employment, particularly for the teeming youth, who form majority of those embarking on the dangerous greener pasture-seeking journeys.
    “Most of them I am sure are graduates and even if they are not, they are healthy people and so, we must think outside the box on how we can provide for them, at least to ensure that they have access to reasonable employment. Unless we do that, it may continue and even get worse.
    “The agency on employment should be innovative on how these youths can be gainfully employed otherwise it is a time bomb waiting to explode.
    “When you have this demography and they constitute more than 40 per cent of the total population and they are hungry and idle, they will find a means of survival,’’ she said.
    On efforts to arrest and prosecute traffickers, Oduah, who is also the Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Women Affairs, said it was necessary.
    She, however, expressed reservations with the notion that most of the victims were being trafficked.
    “I do not believe that an adult, past 17 years, can be trafficked. I think they must have seen it as a means of getting greener pastures.
    “If they are below 12, I would say yes, they are forced but as an adult, I do not think so.
    “I blame the society for not creating an environment that would have given them the opportunity to work, to survive and to be responsible persons.
    “Another thing is parental factor; there is also the factor of greed when you believe it is greener in another man’s house as opposed to yours.
    “But I think the primary responsibility should go to government and all of us in leadership.
    “We should be held responsible for not doing enough to create jobs for these younger people,” she said.
    On activities of National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Oduah said it was addressing more of the symptoms rather than tackling the cause.
    “Why don’t we stop it before it starts?
    “While it is important to increase funding for NAPTIP, I think the only thing that will help eradicate the menace is to create jobs, real jobs and not on the pages of newspapers.’’
    She however, called for intensified advocacy by all stakeholders to enable victims know the dangers of illegal migration, which now led to slavery.

    NAN

  • 1,295 Nigerians returned from Libya in November – NEMA

    1,295 Nigerians returned from Libya in November – NEMA

    The National Emergency Management Agency ( NEMA ) says a total of 1,295 Nigerians voluntarily returned from Libya in November after being stranded in the volatile North African country enroute Europe.

    The Nigerians returned in various batches between Nov. 6 and Nov. 30 with the assistance of the International Organisation for Migration ( IOM ) and the European Union ( EU ).

    The Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency ( NEMA ), Alhaji Mustapha Maihajja, made the disclosure while receiving a fresh batch of 150 Nigerians who arrived the country on Thursday.

    The returnees were brought back aboard a Boeing 737-800 aircraft with Registration Number: 6A-DMG.

    The aircraft landed at the Cargo Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos at about 9.15pm.

    The returnees comprised of 13 female adults and one teenage girl while the male were 133 adults, two teenage boys and one baby boy.

    They were received on behalf of Maihajja by the South West Zonal coordinator of NEMA, Alhaji Suleiman Yakubu .

    Also on ground to welcome the returnees back home were officials of the Nigerian Immigration Service ( NIS ) , the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons ( NAPTIP ), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria ( FAAN ) and the Police.

    NAN

    Read Also: NEMA hands over relief materials to flood victims in Enugu

  • NAPTIP hails human trafficker’s conviction

    NAPTIP hails human trafficker’s conviction

    The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons ( NAPTIP ) has hailed Thursday’s judgment by a Benin High Court, sentencing a human trafficker to 18 years’ imprisonment.

    Mr Nduka Nwanwenne, Benin Zonal Commander of NAPTIP, made the commendation in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Benin on Friday.

    Nwanwenne said that the judgment would serve as a deterrent to human trafficking and other crimes.

    Justice Alero Edodo-Eruaga sentenced one Henry Omoike, 43, to a total of 18 years’ imprisonment without an option of fine.

    The judge convicted Omoike, a resident of 18 Eyobor St., off Uwelu Road, Benin-City, on a five-count charge.

    The judge held that the convict recruited a teenage school dropout from Benin for prostitution in a bar in Mali.

    The other counts are facilitating activity for trafficking in persons, exporting a person from Nigeria, organising foreign travels which promote prostitution and tampering with prosecution.

    The convict will, however, spend five years in prison as the sentences for the various counts would run concurrently.

    Nwanwenne said that NAPTIP had zero tolerance for human trafficking.

    The zonal manager quoted the Director-General of NAPTIP, Mrs Julie Okah-Donli, as also commending the judgment.

    According to Nwanwenne, the director-general advised human traffickers to engage in legitimate means of livelihood instead of exploiting the future of children and youths, to avoid the wrath of the law.

    NAN