The House of Representatives Committee on Human Rights has commended the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTiP) over its efforts in effectively tackling of Trafficking in Persons (TIP).
A statement by the Press Officer of the agency in Abuja on Saturday, stated that the commendation was given by the Chairman of the committee, Abiola Makinde, during the defense of 2024 budget on Thursday.
The statement added that Makinde lauded the efforts of Prof. Fatima Waziri–Azi, the Director-General of NAPTIP, for her numerous achievements and the implementation of the various counter-trafficking policies.
He said that the D-G’s efforts had culminated in the conviction of several traffickers in the country, saying that he had seen the data of the convictions the agency secured.
“Our members are very interested in your agency because you are doing well and this is also a gender-sensitive agency of government. NAPTIP is one of the active agencies in the country.
“In line with the statutory requirements for the yearly budget appropriation, it is expected that you and your team appear before this committee to tell us what you have done with the 2023 budget and also to defend your 2024 appropriation,” Makinde said.
The statement also disclosed that NAPTIP D-G took the committee members through the establishment mandates of the agency, national spread, policy implementation, and the activities of the agency since its inception.
The NAPTIP boss pointed out that it had secured 641 convictions and had offices in 32 states of the federation.
“NAPTIP is the only agency with enforcement, prosecutorial and protection mandates towards its target beneficiaries; that is the victims of human trafficking and Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV).
“As part of the prosecutorial mandates of the agency, last year, we secured 80 convictions and in 2023, the agency has already secured 63 convictions and still counting.
“This convictions include the high-profile trafficker that trafficked 12 girls to Belgium and the conviction of a Lebanese foreign national.
“Due to the enhanced visibility of the agency and increased trust in NAPTIP as a government institution, reportage has doubled in the past 2 years than ever in the past 20 years in addition to the evolving trends and patterns in human trafficking.
“This has caused serious strain on our human and financial resources,” she said.
The D-G stated that “in 2022, the agency received 1, 462 human trafficking complaints, 31 per cent increase from the number received in 2021.
She said that the challenges confronting NAPTIP were enormous and this is worsened by the upsurge in the trafficking of persons across the world.
According to her, every state in Nigeria is affected by human trafficking and the scale of this crime is indeed alarming.
She said that the agency was at war, adding that human traffickers were ruthless and good at hiding.
Waziri-Azi assured the lawmakers that the agency would continue to double its efforts to outsmart the traffickers and ensure the safety of Nigerians from all forms of trafficking and exploitation.
The statement disclosed that NAPTIP D-G had, a week ago, appeared before the Senate Committee on Human Rights on the same mission and was unanimously commended also.
