NAN-HG-8
Trafficking
By Mustapha Sumaila
Abuja, May 15, 2017 (NAN) The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), on Monday, said it had concluded plan to shut illegal shelters for victims of trafficking owned by unregistered NGOs in the country.
The Director-General of the agency, Julie Okah-Donli, disclosed this when she received a delegation from Women Trafficking and Child Labour Eradication Foundation (WOTCLEF) in Abuja.
Okah-Donli explained that the agency had received intelligence report that some organisations unknown to Network of CSOs against trafficking in Persons, Child Labour and Abuse (NACTAL) and NAPTIP had sprang up in the country.
She said such organisations sheltered rescued victims of human trafficking and missing children.
According to her, the illegal NGOs use victims in their custody to seek for funds in the country and abroad.
She added that “the problem is that we do not know how genuine these organisations are and with this their action, the image of the country and NAPTIP is at stake.
“We do not know their intentions and therefore, cannot allow them to keep operating the way they are doing.
“However, we will investigate the truth or otherwise of the intelligence report we received.”
The NAPTIP boss said if found guilty, such apartments would be shut and their operators would be prosecuted accordingly.
Okah-Donli said “NAPTIP keeps data of all rescued victims of human trafficking; rescued victims should be reported to NAPTIP.”
She reiterated the agency’s continued support and cooperation with WOTCLEF to fight human trafficking in the country.
Earlier, the leader of the delegation, Mrs Carol Ndaguba, said that the team was
at the agency to seek for more support for WOTCLEF.
Ndaguba said WOTCLEF rehabilitated and sponsored 186 victims of human trafficking to primary and secondary schools.
She added that four of the victims were currently studying in universities across the country.
She sought for more collaboration from NAPTIP in the areas of rehabilitating the victims and capacity building for personnel. (NAN)
MS/JPE/HA
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Edited by Joseph Edeh/Hadiza Mohammed-Aliyu