Human trafficking has reduced in Edo —NAPTIP boss

Against the backdrop of concerted efforts by various law enforcement agencies, incidents of irregular migration and human trafficking is on the downward trend in Edo State, the Director-General of National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Dr. Fatima Wazir-Azi, has disclosed.

Wazir-Azi, who spoke in Benin during a stakeholders’ meeting comprising non-government organisation and civil society organisation and other partners, said that contrary to belief in some quarters, Edo State which was notorious for human trafficking, especially to Europe, was presently trailing many states in the north.

According to her, incident of irregular migration and human trafficking is changing in the country as statistics show that other states are now deeply involved unlike in the past when only Edo State was in the forefront of the practice.

She said: “Let me give you an instance, on Sunday, 15 victims were rescued and out of this number, eight were from Edo, two from Oyo, two from Kogi, two from Osun states, and one from Kaduna states. In the past if you rescued 15, all would be from Edo State.”

She added that internal trafficking in persons is on the increase in the north, stressing that in Katsina State between January and June, 22, 566 potential victims of human trafficking were rescued and handed over to the command by Nigerian Immigration and Republic of Niger due to the porous border around the state.

The Director-General lamented that Nigeria, as of now, has more of internal human trafficking than external human trafficking. He thereby, blamed the media for reporting only on trans-border trafficking.

Wazir-Azi disclosed that 83 per cent of trafficking in Nigeria happened within the states, adding that it is only 12 per cent that are trans-border element.

She noted that traffickers have shifted focus to rural communities where they recruit their victims under the guise of foreign educational scholarships as passports and visas are procured for those who applied.

“On arrival, the traffickers will use the passport and other travels documents of the victims and forced them into prostitution to pay over $3 million to the traffickers,” she explained.

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