NDE to empower trafficked victims

The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) has commenced the process of training victims of trafficking to establish their own enterprises.

This was disclosed by the Director General of the agency, Dr Nasiru Mohammed Ladan Argungun, at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).

He said “We have the mandate and capacity to train and empower all unemployed persons including trafficked persons for self-employment in various fields.

“If you have a centre or a collection point where victims of human trafficking are being counselled and rehabilitated, we shall move-in, train them on marketable skills and resettled them with better life’’.

In her remarks, the Director General of NAPTIP, Mrs Julie Okah Donli said the need to assist victims of human trafficking in finding their feet in the society has become urgent and relevant to the success of NAPTIP.

She said “We counsel and rehabilitate them but because of financial constraints we have not been quite forthcoming in the area of training and resettlement’’.

With the MoU among, upon recommendation by NAPTIP after training, loans ranging between N100, 000 and N500, 000 are to be disbursed to the beneficiaries by the NDE. The loan package shall be of a single digit interest having a maximum tenor of three years including three months moratorium period. starter-packs for