National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has set up a task force in Kano to combat the growing activities of traffickers in the city.
Director-General, Basheer Muhammed, noted with dismay that human trafficking and other societal menaces have become endemic in Kano State. He said the counter-trafficking initiative is a component of the awareness strategy of the Agency, aimed at securing the support of critical stakeholders and partners.
In a communique, Muhammed said: “The problem of human trafficking and irregular migration has become an issue of national and international concern. A large number of Nigerians are trapped in sexual and labour exploitation in various African and European countries. Additionally, hundreds continue to die in transit along the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea.
“Last year, there were reports about human farms in some parts of Libya where black African migrants were allegedly kept in cages, like animals, and organs, like eyes, kidneys and lungs, are harvested, to service the medical needs of Europe. You may wish to note that from inception to date, NAPTIP has rescued a total of 16,277 victims of human trafficking, out of which 14,474 are Nigerians and 1,287 are from Kano State.
“This makes Kano the most endemic state to human trafficking in Northern Nigeria and the second in the country according to the States Vulnerability Index Analysis. In the same vein, out of the total of 482 persons convicted by the Agency from inception, 110 were from Kano Zonal Command, representing the highest in the country.”
Muhammed noted that NAPTIP is worried about the ugly trend in the trafficking of young Nigerian women to the Middle East, who are mostly from Kano and neighbouring States. He disclosed that in the last 10 days, NAPTIP has successfully rescued 104 victims. He said further the Kano Command, in the last two months, successfully rescued another set of 12 Kano indigenes in Agadez, Niger Republic, who were victims of child labour. According to him, these have been successfully rehabilitated and reunited with their families in Kano.
He added: “For this reason, NAPTIP is requesting that collaboration with Kano State government is strengthened, to bring this terror to an end because the challenges ahead of us are quite enormous.”
New initiatives must be developed for ensuring adequate resources for the rehabilitation of returnee victims of human trafficking and irregular migration to mitigate both menaces.”
In his part, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje assured the Agency of a robust partnership to end the trend in the state, noting: “This is why we welcome the idea of the state task force on human trafficking. We shall partner with your Agency and the task force will be given the desired support.”
