NAPTIP DG vows to ensure return of Nigeria to tier 1 rating

THE Director-General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking In Persons (NAPTIP), Julie Okah-Donli has said that Nigeria, will return to the Tier 1 status on the United States of America’s rating of countries compliance to the minimum standards in the fight against human trafficking.

Nigeria which is now on Tier 2, lost her Tier 1 position in 2012 based on a number of issues including  the insurgency in the country as well as the non compliance by some state actors in proper supervision of various sites where children were found as workers.

Speaking in Abuja while granting audience to a team from the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), led by the Company Secretary/Legal Adviser, Mr. Clifford Omozeghian, the NAPTIP boss said that returning Nigeria to the enviable Tier 1 position remains top on her agenda in the Agency.

She said: “returning Nigeria to the Tier 1 position of the Trafficking in persons ranking is a top priority of my administration in NAPTIP. We are doing everything possible to return Nigeria to where she belongs. Nigeria has paid her dues in the fight against human trafficking and therefore, has no business remaining on Tier 2.

“All hands must be on deck to support NAPTIP in this task as getting to that enviable position is a task for all of us. Many things and actions of various levels of Government and the public are looked at in the ranking process. It is therefore, a task for all of us to rid the country of the menace of trafficking in persons”.

Okah-Donli said that she was already leading the Agency to various strategic meetings that would turn around the present situation.

The Director-General also expressed her optimism that the renewed partnership between the Agency and FAAN would further smoothen the operations of NAPTIP officials at the various airports in the country.

She indicated her desire for the personnel of the Agency to be at the various International Airports across Nigeria to enable them discharge their duties as stated in the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement Administration Act, 2015.

She urged FAAN officials to kindly provide the Agency with all necessary assistance to enable the personnel operate at maximum capacity, in collaboration with other law enforcement agencies already working at the airports.

According to her, NAPTIP officials have been trained and possess the requisite knowledge to identify potential victims of human trafficking as well as single out suspects from the passengers at the Airports, adding that it was imperative that the Agency’s operatives are granted necessary access in line with FAAN’s guidelines.

Earlier in his speech on behalf of the Managing Director of FAAN, the Legal Adviser congratulated the NAPTIP boss on her appointment and expressed optimism that NAPTIP would bounce back under her leadership. He however, admitted that the Agency has made giant strides in line with its objectives towards the eradication of human trafficking in Nigeria.

He expressed his organisation’s desire to strengthen the partnership between NAPTIP and FAAN in combating human trafficking in Nigeria and urged the NAPTIP boss to “take all necessary steps to actualize this partnership and protect the rights of all persons at risk of human trafficking, arrest and prosecute offenders, and rehabilitate/assist victims in line with the Agency’s mandate”.