321 Persons Jailed For Human Trafficking

321 Persons Jailed For Human Trafficking

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and other related offences has secured the conviction of 321 human traffickers in the country.

Our correspondent learnt that apart from the 321 convicts, NAPTIP is currently investigating 3,407 cases of trafficking.

The agency’s Director General, Mrs. Julie Okah-Donli, confirmed these statistics at a briefing, noting that the policy of whistle-blowing would soon be extended to human trafficking.

Okah-Donli added that some of the 41 girls rescued from Mali on February 27 by the Federal Government had been enrolled in universities.

She said, “An analysis of our overall statistics shows that a total of 4,744 cases were reported and 3,407 being investigated. We also rescued 10,685 victims while the agency has convicted a total of 321 persons.

“Concerning awareness creation, NAPTIP officers have commenced a weekly awareness campaign at diverse public places as parts of efforts to stem the tide of human trafficking. We will employ the ‘Name and Shame’ policy to ensure that those who get involved do not have a hiding place. We need a lot of collaboration in the area of intelligence gathering.

“And I appeal to the government to expand the scope of the whistle-blowing policy to accommodate the crime of human trafficking. If the policy succeeded in fighting corruption, it will also succeed when deployed to prevent trafficking in persons.”