NAPTIP secures 68 convictions in 2023, picks Lagos as hub

State commits to fight against menace

THE Director General of National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons ( NAPTIP), Prof. Fatima Waziri- Azi, yesterday, said 68 persons were convicted for human trafficking in 2023.

Waziri- Azi disclosed this at the handover ceremony of a five- room office in Lagos. The facility will be utilised by the Anti- Human Trafficking Unit of the Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Agency ( LNSA) and the Lagos State Task Force on Human Trafficking.

Funding for building and furnishing of the office was provided by the United States government and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, but implemented by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime ( UNODC), in collaboration with NAPTIP.

Waziri- Azi said execution of the project became imperative because data from NAPTIP shows that Lagos is the biggest transit hub and destination for internal or external trafficking.

She said: “If we must tackle the scourge of human trafficking in Nigeria, we need to strengthen our partnership with Lagos.”

According to her, an increasing number of Lagos indigenes are being trafficked, showing there is a problem that needs tackling. She maintained that human trafficking is a national crisis and all stakeholders must continue to scale up awareness to prevent cases.

She added that awareness promotes early intervention, even as she listed Agege, Ikorodu, Epe, Apapa and Iganmu as places endemic for human trafficking in Lagos.

On his part, Lagos State Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General, Femi Pedro, said the state is renewing its commitment to combating human tracking vigorously.