National Agency for Prohibition of Traffic in Persons (NAPTIP) has said that since its first conviction in 2004 over 599 persons have been sentenced to various prisons term in the country.
Barrister Nduka Nwawenne, Benin Zonal Commander of the agency made this known at the Uromi Justice Development Peace and Caritas Initiative (Uromi JDPCI) consultative workshop with judges and magistrates in Benin City.
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The consultative workshop was on the operationalization of the Victims of Trafficking Trust Fund (VTTF) in Edo State.
Nwawenne noted that NAPTIP first conviction was recorded in Edo State where the convict was sentenced to three years imprisonment in a judgement delivered on Friday, November 19, 2004 by the then chief judge of the state, Hon Constance Momoh.
He added that the agency recorded 80 convictions in 2022 making it the highest number of yearly convictions in the country.
He also disclosed that 27 convictions have been obtained by the agency as at March 31, 2023.
The Benin zonal commander opined that there was the need to strengthen victims’ protection by making the victims of trafficking trust fund more operational so as to enhance the assistance and protection to victims of human trafficking in Edo State.
According to him, the provisions of the trust funds is supposed to be an effective counterpoise in the rehabilitation and reintegration of victims of human trafficking.
“However, both in the Edo State law and in the national law, the funds have not been effective, even though at the Federal level, a committee existed to attract and manage the funds”, he said.
While noting that the Edo State Task Force on Human Trafficking recorded its first convictions in 2021, he added that it is making appreciable progress in bringing other human traffickers to book.
Earlier, Very Reverend Father Fidelis Arhedo, executive director, Uromi JPDCI said the workshop was to mobilise relevant stakeholders and galvanize actions towards the activation of victims of trafficking trust fund as contained in the Edo Traffic in Persons Prohibition law 2018.
He also added that the workshop was to call for the establishment of victims of trafficking trust fund committee as also stipulated under section 67 and 68 of the Edo Traffic in Persons Prohibition law in 2018.
He, however, solicited the support of the judiciary, NAPTIP and other stakeholders’ in the fight against human trafficking to ensure that compensation are paid to victims of human trafficking.