Nigeria’s Anti-human Trafficking Agency says it will partner with Facebook to launch an Amber Alert, to stem the use of the social media platform to traffic persons.
The Director of Communication at the Nigeria Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP, Mr. Josiah Emeriole stated this at the ongoing UNESCO regional conference on Media and Voice of Migration in West and Central Africa, taking place in Niamey, Niger Republic.
Mr. Emeriole said the Amber alert “is aimed at fighting human traffickers who now use online to recruit their victims and also abuse victims online by posting their nude pictures.”
The Amber Alert will be launched in Nigeria before the end of September, 2022. It is a global “emergency response system that disseminates information about a missing person (usually a child), by media broadcasting or electronic roadway signs”.
Explaining Nigeria’s best practices which are worthy of emulation, Mr Emeriole listed core best practices as follows;
- NAPTIP’s 5 Ps approach (Policy, Prevention, Protection, Prosecution and Partnership)
- Policy Development and Implementation
- Cooperation among Law Enforcement Agencies- Standard Operating Procedure for the Coordination of law Enforcement Response to Human Trafficking in Nigeria
- Synergy with and Coordination of Civil Society- NAPTIP developed a multi-sectorial approach for the engagement of all Civil Society Organizations on concurrent duties towards victim rescue, rehabilitation, referral and reintegration.
- Infusion of human trafficking studies into Basic and Senior Secondary Education Curricula
- Television programmes and documentaries such as NAPTIP on the move
- Establishment of Rapid Response Squad for prompt response to distress calls on human trafficking
- Improving the employability of survivors of trafficking by sponsoring them to University level- NAPTIP has sponsored 16 VoT in university and has employed 3
- Dedicated toll-free lines
NAPTIP urged the international community to treat trafficking not just as a crime but also as an economic crime, as proceeds accruing to traffickers were in excess of 150b Dollars.
NAPTIP also called for more public education on the scourge of trafficking.
The 3-day conference ends on Thursday.
Mercy Chukwudiebere
