Lagos state is biggest transit, destination for human trafficking in Nigeria, says agency

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) data has revealed that Lagos State is biggest transit, destination for human trafficking in Nigeria, adding that Epe, Ikorodu, Agege, Apapa and Iganmu made the list of places in Lagos that are endemic for trafficking.

Penpushing reports that Director General of the Agency, Fatima Waziri-Azi, made this disclosure on Thursday while speaking at the handover of a five-room counter-trafficking in person office for the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of the Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Agency (LNSA) and the Lagos State Task Force on Human Trafficking.

The agency boss said the execution of the project became important because, though Lagos may not be the biggest source of human trafficking, but data had established it was the biggest transit and destination for whether internal or external trafficking.

Penpushing further reports that Waziri-Azi pointed out that to tackle the scourge of human trafficking in the country, it had become imperative for the agency to strengthen its partnership with Lagos state government.

‘We secured the conviction of 68 persons for human trafficking in 2023. But our shelter in Lagos received and rescued the highest number of victims for 2023. There is also an increasing number of Lagos indigenes being trafficked, which shows that there is a problem that should be tackled’, the Director said.

The Director, however, maintained that human trafficking is a national crisis emphasizing that all stakeholders must continue to scale awareness to prevent cases, as prevention is a key pillar in tackling the scourge.

Penpushing also reports that Waziri-Azi added that awareness about human trafficking promotes early intervention to halt and deter its incidence.

The Lagos State Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General, Femi Pedro, who also spoke at the ceremony, said the state was renewing its commitment to vigorously tackle human trafficking with the project.

Penpushing reports that Pedro while admitting that anyone could be victim of human trafficking and that there were networks taking advantage of vulnerable people, and warned that perpetrators would always be made to face the full wrath of the law.

The Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General implored residents not to hesitate in reporting when they see cases or trace of human trafficking, stressing that the government alone cannot do it.

Penpushing further reports that General Manager of Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Agency (LNSA), Ifalade Oyekan, urged residents to support the agency and the state in tackling human trafficking by providing information, as they cannot do it alone.

The General Manger in his contributions pointed out that when the donors and the project partners return in few months’ time to assess their activities, they would be glad to provide more support for the agency.

Penpushing also reports that Deputy Country Representative of UNODC Danilo Campisi, while providing a project overview, said that the initiative of the TIP office was conceptualised under two projects, namely, “Improved response to Trafficking in Persons in Nigeria (INL)” and “Strengthening Nigeria’s Criminal Justice Response to Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants (PROMIS).”

The Deputy Country Representative of UNODC stated that in 2022, UNODC commissioned a gap analysis and needs assessment to document the status of established state task forces in Nigeria.

‘The findings from these exercises showed that aside from the Edo State Task Force, all the other state task forces need substantial support to properly take off and stand. The need for training and structural sustainability as well as cooperation efforts within states was also emphasised.

‘Till date, UNODC has supported different levels of intervention for the STFs, which includes capacity building, provision of office equipment for STFs with existing offices, created a coordination meeting amongst STFs in Nigeria through the bootcamps held annually in Abuja’.

‘Created an international coordination meeting between NGOs in Europe with NGOs, STFs and government partners in Nigeria to support and protect trafficked victims and vulnerable migrants, held in Siracusa Italy, and the creation of this TIP office in the premises of the Lagos State Neighborhood Safety Agency (LNSA) Lagos state’, he said.

Penpushing reports that Campisi expressed optimism that the offices handed over to the LNSA will enhance the coordination of the response between NAPTIP, the state task force and the LNSA in the identification, prevention and reporting of human trafficking cases in Lagos State.

Meanwhile, the building and furnishing of the offices were funded by the United States government and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, but implemented by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in collaboration with NAPTIP.

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