AGF makes case for diligent prosecution of human traffickers
NAN-H-33
Traffickers
By Wandoo Sombo
Abuja, July 28, 2017 (NAN) Malam Abubakar Malami (SAN), the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, has stressed the need for diligent prosecution of human traffickers in order to give hope to victims.
Malami spoke on Friday in Abuja at a seminar organised by the Ministry of Justice to mark the 2017 International Day Against Trafficking in Persons.
The theme of this year’s celebration is: “Elimination of Human Trafficking: Advocacy for Prosecuting Agencies and the Public.’’
He said: “Stakeholders must do all that they can to give hope to the victims of human trafficking by reporting any known case of human trafficking.
“That is the first step to the prosecution of perpetrators of this heinous crime.
“The issue of human trafficking and forced labour have become a great concern the world over, because many persons are deprived of their basic rights to dignity of person and right to life.
“A vibrant public awareness of the crime, modus operandi of the perpetrators and public participation in reportage, follow-up and support for prosecuting agencies are therefore, steps in the right direction.”
According to Malami, since no society can effectively police itself without the full involvement of the citizens, this year’s celebration is a call to duty for members of the public to assist the prosecuting agencies.
Sen. Shehu Sani, the Chairman, Senate committee on Local and Foreign Debts, who spoke said that for the war against human trafficking to be won, Nigeria must fine tune its legal framework.
He said that the fine tuning would enable the country to keep pace with the ever changing antics of the traffickers.
He also said that there was need for relevant institutions, particularly the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) , to be empowered to enable it tackle traffickers.
“We need not only avail them of the resources needed to detect, arrest and prosecute offenders, but also the financial and material means to engage in the even more challenging task of rehabilitating rescued victims,” Sani said.
Mrs Julie Okah-Donli, the Director-General of NAPTIP , said that the agency had redoubled its efforts to destabilise the human trafficking cartels, more needed to be done on the international scene.
According to her, while the Nigerian traffickers who are arrested are being prosecuted, their European counterparts must also not be spared by authorities in their countries.(NAN)
WS/DO/OU
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Edited by David Onilede/Obike Ukoh
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