NAPTIP: Legitimate Concerns on Sexual Abuse Abound in IDP Camps
Announces ban on engaging under 12-year-olds as domestic helps
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has admitted that there are legitimate causes for concern over allegations of sexual abuse in the camps for the internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the North.
It also disclosed that there are cases of repression of vulnerable persons by overzealous security personnel drafted to protect the inhabitants of the camps who were mostly displaced by the violence unleashed by Boko Haram in the North-east.
The Director General of NAPTIP, Mrs. Beatrice Jedy-Agba, speaking at a press briefing in Abuja yesterday, however said there was no evidence of trafficking in persons in the camps, adding that NAPTIP officials went undercover to investigate.
She added that in instances where suspicions of sexual abuse and repression was high, there was no victim willing to testify against their abusers.
“Some of the IDPs were sexually exploiting others...some of the camps are not registered but we have approached security agencies for more protection in the camps to protect the vulnerable,” she said.
Speaking on the upgrade of the agency to a law enforcement agency backed by the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015, JedyAgba also announced the ban on the engagement of children under the age of 12 as domestic helps.
Contravention of this provision carries a compulsory minimum of two years imprisonment, which may be in addition to a fine, she said.
The Act also prohibits the exploitation of a child under 18 years who is employed as domestic help and provides stiffer punishment for aggravated circumstances like defilement of a child.
The DG added that people cannot hide under the guise of traditional fostering to traffic children, abuse or exploit them.
“Even if you have custody of someone’s child, you have to treat the child like you would yours. You keep a child of five and deprive the child of education, government would no longer tolerate that,” she added.