The Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has inaugurated the State Task Force on Human Trafficking.
The governor during the inauguration ceremony in Ilorin, the state capital, lamented that the prevalence of Human Trafficking and other forms of exploitation in Nigeria was alarming.
He explained that at every point in time, several people suffer the misery of this humiliating and degrading crime.
He said children, women, young girls, migrants, refugees and internally displaced persons are particularly vulnerable to Human Trafficking and the physical, psychological, and economic violence that accompanies it.
Represented by his Deputy, Mr Kayode Alabi, Governor AbdulRazaq emphasised the importance of nipping the menace in the bud.
According to him, human trafficking is an issue of economic and social development.
“However, this crime is not simply the symptom of a fragile or poor state or country, it occurs in every region. Due to the multifaceted nature of human trafficking, and its close connections with other transnational issues, no country is capable of combating this transnational threat on its own,” he said.
He started that, ‘This global threat, therefore, requires a coordinated and meaningful response at all levels: local, regional and international. With very few victims being detected when it most matters, we must work closely with enforcement bodies to increase the arrest, trial and imprisonment for traffickers.’
Advocacy Campaigns
The Governor therefore called on all stakeholders to design advocacy campaigns capable of educating people about human trafficking and its violence.
He also called for the active engagement of the youth in order to channel their passion and dedication into the movement to eradicate this crime.
Governor AbdulRazaq assured of the state Government’s commitment to a wholesome collaboration with the State Task Force in order to eliminate the menace of Human Trafficking in the country.
The Director General of NAPTIP, Dr Fatimah Azi, stated that NAPTIP was also an implementation agency for the violence against persons prohibition act of 2015 in the FCT which Kwara state has signed into law since 2020.
She said the state task force on human trafficking was saddled with the responsibility to ensure adequate sensitisation at the grassroots and among vulnerable groups, provide services and support to victims who have been rescued as well as share information and provide access to Justice.
Representing the Chief of Mission, international Organisation on Migration, IOM, Counter Trafficking Officer, Amira Tassadit disclosed that everyone was susceptible to human trafficking either directly or indirectly.
Amira commended Kwara State for being one of the leading actors in the fight against trafficking.
Confidence Okwuchi
