Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), has called for a total declaration of war against human trafficking in the country.
Dabiri-Erewa stressed that what is needed to contain the menace is a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches.
She made the declaration at a strategic meeting with Hajia Binta Adamu Bello, the Director-General, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), at NiDCOM Headquarters in Abuja.
Dabiri-Erewa noted that while progress has been made, more needs to be done.
She stressed that the traffickers should be named and shamed while enforcing stricter penalties as a deterrent to other criminal actors.
But there is so much that has been done in terms of trafficking. There are many people that have been arrested.
“All we just hope for is that these people, we should see them, name and shame them, the way they do drug traffickers.
“It’s a very dangerous field. We must declare a war against human trafficking. And the idea about the multi-agency collaboration, NAPTIP, NIDCOM, Refugee Commisdion, Humanitarian , even Ministry of Youth need to join us in this fight”.
She stressed that NAPTIP cannot do the work alone and therefore called for closer collaboration with NiDCOM, the National Commission for Refugees Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), and other sister agencies, to curb the menace
Like NiDCOM, the Commission’s Chairman also pushed for more flexible policies and better funding to help NAPTIP to fully carry out its mandate against the menace.
“And for NAPTIP to do it, they need all the support. The whole amount of support that you are getting. And I believe that NAPTIP, just like you NIDCOM, deserves to be better funded.
The NiDCOM boss thanked the support of the First Lady Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), neighbouring governments, Nigerian Diaspora Communities, Wema bank and NGOs for helping to rescue and reintegrate trafficked victims.
She commended the NAPTIP DG for her dedication and pledged continued support
adding,
“we will continue to do our best to save these young ones and encourage safe and regular pathways for migration”.
Hajia Bello thanked Dabiri-Erewa for NiDCOM’s support, especially in the recent rescue of 231 young Nigerians from Ghana. She agreed that tackling human trafficking requires joint action from government, society, and key stakeholders.
The Director General, NAPTIP, stressed the need for more awareness across all levels to highlight the dangers of trafficking,
” we rescued last week 19 girls all pregnant for one man in an estate in Abuja, received 9 girls from Cote D’ivoire, and other sordid stories to mention here”, she said.
Recognising NiDCOM’s role in engaging with Nigerians in the diaspora, she expressed her commitment to strengthening the NiDCOM-NAPTIP relationship.
Bello assured that the Agency will continue to protect the rights and dignity of Nigerians against trafficking in persons.
Ends
