Employ under 18 and bag 7 years imprisonment, NAPTIP warns

National Agency for Prohibition of Traffic in Persons (NAPTIP) has warned against employing under 18 years of age to do exploitative, injurious or hazardous works as the agency clarifies that it attracts 6 months to 7 years imprisonment.

The Director-General of the agency, Julie Okah-Donli disclosed this in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital while inaugurating the state task force on human trafficking.

According to her, from 2004 to July 2020, a total of 292 indigenes of Ebonyi State were subjected to child abuse, child labour, sexual exploitation while babies have been rescued at the point of sales.

She further revealed that the International Organization of Migration(IOM) has returned 11 indigenes of the state (9 females and 2 males) from various parts of the world.

Mrs Okah-Donli called for the development of new initiatives to ensure adequate rehabilitation of returnee victims of trafficking and irregular migration in other to mitigate the phenomenon of re-trafficking.

She then advocates for empowerment programs for rural women who are mothers of pure trial victims of trafficking.

According to her, hundreds of the country’s citizens die in the Sahara desert and mediterranean sea, Okah-Donli maintained that problem of human trafficking and irregular migration have become a great concern especially with the large number of Nigerians trapped in sexual and labour exploitation in various African and European countries.

“It is also a crime to employ a child under 18 years to do any work that is exploitative, injurious or hazardous to the development of the child. The above crime attracts between 6 months to 7 years imprisonment.”

“Last year reports emerged about the existence of human farms in some parts of Libya where black African migrants are allegedly kept in cages like animals and their organs like eyes, kidneys and lungs are harvested to service medical sectors of Europe.

“In December 2018, NAPTIP undertook a fact-finding mission to Mali. The report of the mission painted a very gory picture of more than 20,000 young Nigerian girls who are victims of trafficking and sexual exploitation in bush camps around Mali’s minefields.”

“In the first week of March 2019, I personally followed up with a visit to Mali and saw girls as young as 14 years held in sexual slavery in very horrendous conditions.”

“Bigger and adequately equipped shelters, vocational training facilities and scholarships must be in place if we are going to provide appropriate rehabilitation for these victims,” she said.

Meanwhile, Governor David Umahi represented by the Deputy Governor, Kelechi Igwe commended the agency for its efforts towards eradicating trafficking in the country.

He noted that the state government is determined to end exploitation and trafficking in the state.

“Here, domestically, it may be difficult for us to assertively say that trafficking of persons exists in the state, but we will cast our mind to the era where we were quite primitive, and one of the sources of the rural families were giving out their innocent sons and daughters to serve as house helps to those who needed them.

“Fortunately, this kind of gesture that would have been a humanitarian activity turned out to be of personal gains and inhumanity in Nigeria. Some of these children were turned to sex toys, objects of trade and many more,” he said.

“Anyone who must come to take anybody must disclose what the person is going to do for him/her.”

“While we are not saying that people should not assist our sons and daughters, we are mindful and careful not to give them out to go and do inhuman service in the guise of house help again. The era of coming to Abakaliki, to Ebonyi State to take house help is over,” he added.

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