The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has reported that its operatives rescued 19 girls believed to have been impregnated by the same man in Abuja.
Binta Bello, NAPTIP’s Director-General, disclosed this on Friday during a meeting with Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
Bello expressed gratitude to Dabiri-Erewa for NiDCOM’s support, particularly in the recent repatriation of 231 young Nigerians from Ghana.
She emphasised that combating human trafficking requires collaborative efforts between the government and key stakeholders, highlighting the need for increased public awareness at all levels.
“We rescued last week 19 girls, all pregnant for one man, in an estate in Abuja; received nine girls from Cote D’Ivoire; and other sordid stories to mention here,” she said.
She commended the commission’s role in engaging with Nigerians in the diaspora and expressed her commitment to strengthening the NiDCOM-NAPTIP relationship.
Bello assured that the agency would continue to protect the rights and dignity of Nigerians against trafficking in persons.
Dabiri-Erewa called for a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach against human trafficking in Nigeria.
While noting that progress has been made, she said more needs to be done, adding that traffickers should be named and shamed as a deterrent to other criminal actors.
She said NAPTIP cannot work alone and called for closer collaboration with NiDCOM, the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), and other sister agencies.
“We will continue to do our best to save these young ones and encourage safe and regular pathways for migration,” she said.
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