The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has called for cooperation to develop protocols and share intelligence in the fight against human trafficking.
The UNODC Country Representative in Nigeria, Oliver Stolpe, stated this at the conclusion of a 5-day bootcamp for state task forces on human trafficking in Abuja the nation’s capital
The purpose of the Bootcamp was to enhance the cross-fertilization of information amongst the state task forces and between NAPTIP and the state task forces on collaborative efforts to address human trafficking at the state and community level.
Stolpe, also explained that Internet has become a vital lifeline as the COVID-19 pandemic has restricted travel and kept people apart. But the advantages and potential of digital technologies to bring people together and better their lives are also being increasingly exploited by criminals.
“The 2020 UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, reported that the use of the internet has been integrated into the business model of traffickers and it facilitates ensnaring victims into sexual exploitation, forced labour and other forms of exploitation. Through the internet, traffickers easily gain access to an increased pool of customers, particularly sex buyers. One court case is particularly illustrative: a single trafficker, working alone, managed to sexually exploit and connect one victim with over 100 sex buyers over a period of 60 days using online advertisement.“
The Director General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Dr Fatima Waziri-Azi, disclosed that the agency has rescued many Nigerian girls who fell victims of fake online jobs.
“Many of them fell into the nets of traffickers after paying enrolment fees and travelling abroad. They arrived at their destination to realize that there was neither school nor scholarship which were promised in the deceptive advertorials.
“The internet provides easy access to a larger pool of potential victims because geographical limitations no longer exist, thereby increasing the ease with which traffickers can locate and recruit their victims; control and organize transportation for victims, communicate amongst perpetrators, and hide criminal proceeds.”
She further disclosed that with over 70,000 reports on online trafficking, the Agency is working in partnership with Facebook in order to enhance tracing and diligent investigation of traffickers.
This year’s theme for the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons – “Use and abuse of technology” – focuses on the role of technology as a tool that can both enable and stop human trafficking.
PIAK
