TheCable

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) says the agency has rehabilitated over 17,000 trafficked Nigerians between 2003 and 2021. 

Bori Ogunkanmi, NAPTIP senior intelligence officer, said this on Thursday at a capacity building workshop on the establishment of the ECOWAS protection and human security integrated coordination mechanisms in Nigeria. 

The three-day workshop focuses on counter-trafficking measures and child rights protection and covers refugees and IDPs.

Ogunkanmi also said it has rescued 523 Nigerians from Mali, adding that the agency rescued 108 individuals in 2020 and 18 persons in 2021.

He said NAPTIP rescued and rehabilitated 17,246 victims, while the agency empowered some “of them with formal education programmes and vocational trades for meaningful living”.

“It is key to note that out of the numerous numbers enrolled in formal education by NAPTIP, six victims rescued by the agency have successfully graduated from various universities in Nigeria under the agency’s sponsorship”, Ogunkanmi said. 

He also said the agency has prosecuted hundreds of cases which have led to the conviction of 500 traffickers within the period under review, while others are at various trial stages in courts or referred to relevant agencies for further investigations and eventual prosecutions.