The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), has disclosed collaborations with Meta,(owners of Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp), and the United States National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children to combat online child exploitation and human trafficking in Nigeria.
The Director General NAPTIP, Fatima Waziri-Azi said this during the agency’s 20th Celebration and Award day, themed “A Shining Legacy: NAPTIP @ 20-Celebrating Partners and Honoring Excellence” on Thursday in Abuja.
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The NAPTIP Boss stressed on the need to include persons with disabilities by providing more policy documents which includes NAPTIP Disability Inclusion Policy among others.
Fatima noted that the agency rebranded logo, represents a re-commitment from NAPTIP to protect all persons against human trafficking, and violence against persons through a people-centered access to justice, and the provision of safe spaces.
She said, “Our recent strategic partnership with Meta {owners of Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp} and the United States National Centre for missing and exploited children have further enhanced the capacity of NAPTIP to tackle issues of online child exploitation.
“Nigeria is better poised to control and tackle human trafficking because of the collaborative efforts of everyone. Last year, with support from our supervising Ministry, the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, not one but three policy documents targeted at revolutionizing the fight against human trafficking in Nigeria, including the National Action Plan on Human Trafficking (2022-2026); were approved by the Federal Executive Council.
“And today we will present more policy documents and innovations and they include: NAPTIP Disability Inclusion Policy, NAPTIP Service Charter, policy documents that have been transcribed into braille for the blind in collaboration with the disability commission. There will also be a brief demonstration of our remodeled app called the Ireporter, and NAPTIP Learning Management System supported by the Canadian Government and lastly Audio-Visual Materials developed for use by the Blind and Deaf.
“To keep things current, for anyone who has noticed, we have rebranded our logo, which has already been mainstreamed. The rebranded logo represents a re-commitment from NAPTIP to protect all persons against human trafficking, and violence against persons through a people-centered access to justice, and the provision of safe spaces.” she said.
The Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Human Affairs, FMHADMSD, Dr Nasir Sani-Gwarzo who was represented by the Deputy Director Humanitarian, Charles Anielo while highlighting the plights of victims said, ”Human trafficking knows no boundaries; it thrives in the shadows, exploiting vulnerabilities and preying on the marginalized and defenseless. Men, women, and children fall victim to its grasp, often subjected to unspeakable horrors and unimaginable suffering. They are robbed of their dreams, their hopes, and their right to live a life free from fear and exploitation.
“The numbers themselves are staggering. But behind these numbers are individual stories of pain and despair, stories that cry out for justice and compassion and it is our moral duty to heed these cries and stand united against this global injustice.”
“On the part of the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs Disaster Management and Social Development, the coordinating ministry for all humanitarian and migrations issues in Nigeria, we are committed to combating all aspect of irregular migration which requires multi-stakeholders’ engagement in comprehensive and protect multidisciplinary manner that proactively focuses on how best to and assist vulnerable persons within the entire migration circle and punish the perpetrators.” he added.