By thenarrativeshub
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP, has called for stronger coordination among government agencies, security institutions, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to tackle the growing sophistication of human trafficking in Nigeria.
The call was made on Monday in Abuja at a one-day workshop organised by NAPTIP to validate the Diagnostic Assessment Report of Trafficking in Persons Coordination in Nigeria, with support from Expertise France under the PROTECT Project.
Director-General of NAPTIP, Binta Adamu Bello, OON, said human trafficking had evolved in complexity, sophistication and geographical reach, with traffickers increasingly exploiting digital technologies, social media, economic vulnerabilities, irregular migration channels, conflicts, displacement and unemployment.
She said the changing nature of the crime required Nigeria’s response to evolve rapidly, noting that NAPTIP had continued to implement its mandate through the five broad pillars of Policy, Prevention, Protection, Prosecution and Partnership.
Bello said the agency had intensified awareness campaigns across communities, schools, markets, transport corridors, religious institutions and vulnerable communities, while also using radio, television and digital platforms to reach young people who are increasingly targeted by traffickers.
On victim protection, she said NAPTIP continued to identify, rescue, rehabilitate and reintegrate victims, stressing that rescue was only the beginning of the support required.
“Rescued and Intercepted Victims require appropriate shelter, medical and psychosocial support, legal assistance, skills acquisition, educational opportunities, family tracing and sustainable reintegration,” she said.
The NAPTIP boss said the PROTECT Project could strengthen institutional coordination, improve responses to technology-facilitated trafficking, enhance data and information systems, build capacity and promote gender-responsive approaches to trafficking prevention and victim protection.
She also stressed the importance of asset recovery in disrupting trafficking networks, saying Nigeria must move beyond arresting individual traffickers to tracing and recovering proceeds of trafficking and dismantling the criminal enterprises behind the exploitation.
According to her, “Ultimately, the greatest value of PROTECT will be measured not simply by the number of activities conducted, but by the extent to which it leaves behind stronger institutions, better coordination, improved systems and more effective protection for vulnerable persons and survivors.”
Bello urged participants to critically examine the findings of the diagnostic assessment and ensure that the recommendations were realistic, measurable, sustainable and responsive to Nigeria’s trafficking environment.
She said the fight against trafficking could not be handled by NAPTIP alone, urging law enforcement agencies, the judiciary, government institutions, state governments, civil society organisations, development partners, the media, traditional and religious leaders, the private sector and citizens to strengthen their roles.
In his remarks, Head of the PROTECT Project, Modeste Krah, said the workshop marked both the validation of work conducted during the project’s inception phase and the official launch of PROTECT’s implementation in Nigeria.
Krah said Expertise France had worked closely with NAPTIP and other national and regional stakeholders from 2019 to 2024 through the ALTP project, which he said recorded achievements including the establishment of a digital travel declaration platform, TICAP, a 627 toll-free line for trafficking case reporting, and the renovation of an office and shelter in Ondo State.
He said the PROTECT Project, funded by the Agence Française de Développement and implemented by Expertise France, brings together Benin, Guinea, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Togo to strengthen the prevention of human trafficking, protection of victims and survivors, prosecution of perpetrators and cooperation among stakeholders.
According to him, the project is structured around five components covering institutional coordination, criminal justice, prevention and victim protection, bilateral and regional cooperation, and the production and analysis of quality data.
Krah said the diagnostic assessments undertaken during the inception phase would provide an evidence base for identifying priority areas and determining where the project could provide practical and sustainable support.
He said the project was not intended to create parallel structures or duplicate existing initiatives, but to strengthen existing Nigerian institutions and address identified gaps.
“PROTECT is not intended to create parallel structures or duplicate existing initiatives. Our ambition is to work with Nigerian institutions to strengthen what already exists, address identified gaps, build sustainable capacities, facilitate cooperation and support solutions that can continue beyond the life of the project,” he said.
Krah added that the regional dimension of the project was important because trafficking networks operated across borders, making stronger cooperation and exchange of knowledge among participating countries necessary.
He said the launch of PROTECT in Nigeria marked a new phase in the partnership and expressed optimism that it would produce “tangible, measurable and sustainable results” in the fight against human trafficking.
