NAPTIP Allocates N16bn to Combat Human Trafficking

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons(NAPTIP) has allocated a budget of N16 billion to combat human trafficking,which includes the introduction of new initiatives to identify victims and prosecute those responsible.

This information was obtained from a National Action Plan on Human Trafficking in Nigeria (2022-2026) acquired by our correspondent on Wednesday.

As stated in the document, the five-year national plan, launched in 2022, will establish the standard for interventions by all stakeholders involved in the fight against human trafficking.

The document further reveals that the total budget for implementing the National Action Plan (2022-2026) amounts to N15,657,082,500.

In November 2022, at the time of its inauguration, Prof. Fatima Waziri-Azi, the Director-General of NAPTIP, emphasized that human trafficking continues to pose a significant risk to international, national, and human security. She further highlighted that it has emerged as the foremost contemporary challenge.

Waziri-Azi said, “You would recall that in 2009, NAPTIP developed a four-year National Action Plan on Trafficking in Persons (2009-2012) that became a collaborative framework that set the benchmarks for interventions by all stakeholders.

“The implementation of the first edition of ‘NAP On Human Trafficking (2009-2012)’ provided the much-needed framework for a coordinated response to human trafficking in Nigeria among the stakeholders.

“The first edition led to numerous achievements recorded by the agency in the succeeding years. Some of these achievements were the landmark upgrading of Nigeria to Tier One status for three consecutive years in the US, 2009 – 2012.”

During a one-day national event held in Abuja, the Director of Intelligence and Public Enlightenment, Josiah Emerole, provided updates on the agency’s efforts to combat human trafficking and unsafe migration.

He stated that in the current year alone, the agency had successfully rescued over 19,000 individuals who were victims of trafficking. Additionally, between January and May 2023, a total of 32 individuals had been convicted for various crimes associated with human trafficking, according to the agency’s records.