The Federal Government says it will scale its Social Investment Programmes as a measure to prevent people from falling prey to human traffickers.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) stated this in Abuja on Monday at the opening of the 26th National Stakeholders’ Consultative Forum (NSCF) on Human Trafficking.
The AGF said that part of the aims of the social investment programmes was to provide livelihood support and prevent potential victims of trafficking from getting lured.
According to him, the fight against human trafficking could not be shouldered by a single agency or arm of government.
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He said fighting human trafficking demands a collective effort involving the government, civil society, private sector and international organisations.
Fagbemi called on relevant bodies to join hands in the critical fight against the global threat of trafficking.
“I am pleased with the incremental establishment of State Task Forces by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) with support from its partners, showing collaboration between the national and sub-national levels.
“I specially commend the efforts of the 23 state governments who have keyed into this initiative by inaugurating Task Forces in their respective states,’’ he said.
The minister said addressing the challenge of human trafficking is one of the priorities of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
The Deputy Representative, United Nations Office on Drug and Crimes (UNODC), Mr Danilo Campisi, said, over the years, NSCF had proven invaluable to NAPTIP
He said the forum had helped NAPTIP and its stakeholders to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions and strategic initiatives in combating the scourge of human trafficking within the country.
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Campisi recalled that in 2020, UNODC partnered with NAPTIP in developing five years National Action Plan on Human Trafficking in Nigeria as part of the tools to mobilise and strengthen stakeholders’ participation in national response.
He said the partnership came under the project tagged, “Strengthening the policy framework and response to human trafficking in Nigeria, funded by the Swiss government.
He pledged the readiness of UNODC to continue to collaborate with NAPTIP to fight human trafficking.
NAPTIP Director-General, Prof Fatima Waziri-Azi, appreciated the support of stakeholders, including UNODC, the governments of Switzerland and Netherlands for making the forum possible.
She called on the stakeholders to double their efforts in supporting NAPTIP to achieve more results.
NAN
