Senate seeks tougher tenancy rules, probes travel agencies over human trafficking

The Senate has called for stricter tenancy regulations and investigations into travel agencies implicated in the recruitment and exploitation of Nigerians abroad, particularly in Libya, as part of efforts to combat suspected human trafficking networks.

The Red Chamber also called for stronger monitoring of tenants and short-let apartments to help security agencies track criminal networks, while urging the Federal Government to improve the protection and rehabilitation of trafficking victims.

The resolutions followed the consideration of a joint report by the Senate Committees on Diaspora and NGOs, Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, Foreign Affairs, and Special Duties on protecting Nigerians from trafficking and abuse abroad.

Presenting the report, the Vice-Chairman of the Diaspora Committee, Senator Anthony Yaro, said the committees had consulted relevant stakeholders and examined an earlier motion on the trafficking of Nigerians in Libya.

The Senate recommended a review and stricter enforcement of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015, and the Child Rights Act, 2003.

It also urged the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), the police, the Nigeria Immigration Service, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other relevant agencies to investigate suspected trafficking rings and implicated travel agencies.

The Red Chamber said the investigations should cover recruitment channels, financial transactions and travel arrangements to facilitate the prosecution of those involved.

It also called for increased funding for NAPTIP and related agencies to strengthen investigations, prosecutions and victim support.

The Senate further recommended a national protection and reintegration programme for rescued Nigerians, to be coordinated by the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons in partnership with NAPTIP.

It urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to intensify engagement with Libya on intelligence sharing, border management, the dismantling of trafficking networks and the repatriation of victims.

Speaking on the matter, Senate President Godswill Akpabio recounted the case of three children abducted in Akwa Ibom State while he was governor. He said the children were moved through Aba, Katsina and Lagos before they were almost trafficked to Ghana.

Akpabio said the children had been missing for 93 days before their rescue. He commended the then Inspector-General of Police and the Akwa Ibom State Police Command for their roles in recovering them and pledged a university scholarship for the eldest child.

The incident prompted Akpabio and other senators to advocate stricter tenancy laws, including a “Know Your Tenant” arrangement and the regulation of short-let apartments, to enable security agencies to identify and trace suspected criminals.

Former Speaker of the House of Representatives and Senator Aminu Tambuwal recalled an unsuccessful attempt to introduce tenancy registration legislation while he presided over the House.

He cited Sokoto State as an example, noting that a similar measure was later enacted through a Rent Control and Management Commission.

Tambuwal urged other states to adopt comparable measures to strengthen monitoring and accountability in the rental sector.

Other lawmakers, including Senators Neda Imasuen, Babangida Hussaini, Adams Oshiomhole and Mohammed Aliero, cautioned that legislation alone would not suffice without effective implementation.

The senators called for stronger enforcement of existing laws, wider public enlightenment and more employment opportunities to reduce the economic pressures driving Nigerians towards irregular migration and exposing them to traffickers.