…says Lagos Zonal Command reunites 232 victims with their families
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking In Persons has said about 10, 000 Nigerian victims of human trafficking are being documented for repatriation to Nigeria from foreign countries by the International Organisation for Migration.
Our correspondent gathered from NAPTIP that the IOM had not only been rescuing victims of human trafficking from Nigeria, the organisation had also been generous to the returnees by giving them cash sums to stop them from begging for food or feel abandoned back home.
“They will sell you as slaves to foreigners. They are doing organ sales. They will cash in on your financial situation to lure you into a dangerous act. They will harvest your organs. Traffickers will deceive you to sell your organ after which you will become ‘half’ human being
NAPTIP’s Zonal Commander, Lagos State Zonal Command Headquarters, Ikeja, comprising Oyo, Lagos and Ogun states, respectively, Mr. Daniel Atokolo, said out of the 255 victims rehabilitated, sensitized and counseled this year, 232 of them had been reunited with their families, while 23 others were still under the care of the zone.
Atokolo said that out of the 185 cases reported at the zonal level this year, 72 cases were pending in various Federal High Courts in the country, while the zone also recorded seven convictions among them this year.
He said, “This year, the number of cases reported at the Lagos Zonal Command is 185. Some of the cases were not court-bound. 72 cases are pending in various Federal High Courts. We have also secured seven (7) convictions within this same period. I want to also let you know that 255 victims passed through our shelter this year. They were rehabilitated and well counseled. They passed through all our protocol. Out of the 255 victims, 232 had been reunited with their families. We still have another 23 under our care.
“We have good stakeholders. I signed a letter for two victims. We have to give them out but they are still our victims. We engage them in skill acquisition. At The Point when they are through, they will come back to us and we will reunite them. International Organisation for Migration (I.O.M) gave us an information that they were processing documents for 10, 000 Nigerian victims abroad. Today, we received 150 victims from overseas. On Thursday, last week, we received 180 victims while the week before that, we also received 150 victims from abroad.”
Speaking on prosecution of suspects and resources to cater for victims, the Zonal Commander said, “When cases are being investigated, the ones that are court- bound are moved to the Federal High Court. We have Victim of Human Trafficking Trust Fund. We use the ill-gotten wealth of the traffickers to cater for the victims. This is how it works. When we arrest a suspect we ensure that we also get his or her BVN (Bank Verification Number), get the suspect’s finger prints and also get the declaration. Any of the trafficker’s property linked to the human trafficking, we have to confiscate them. We auction them and from the proceeds of the accused or convicted trafficker, we put money into the trust fund to assist the victims.”
He also spoke about how the agency carry out assessment, counseling of families, preparation of victims for family acceptance and family tracing.
Atokolo said, “We have to do a lot of counseling on both the victims and their families. Some families will think that their children had disgraced them and decide to banish them. Some of the victims may not like to see their families due to one thing or the other. But we have to also talk to the members of the families, who will later be willing to accept the victims back to their fold. Some of the victims may be ashamed to go back to their families. That’s why we have to rehabilitate, counsel and make them feel like important human beings again after advising their family against anything that could be related to stigma against the victims.
“We have ways of getting our information. We get useful information from patriotic and public-spirited individuals. They will give us information about people who are beating or torturing their house help. Our men are on surveillance. They will bring cases. We organise and make arrest. We also get referrals from the Nigeria Police Force. The Customs just brought in seven (7) suspects today. The military, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, and other security agencies have been of help to us. They have been bringing suspects to us. When they provide information to us, we will work on them. We go out there and make the necessary arrest.
“We also work with the NGOs, who also assist us by providing information to us. If arrest is made, after investigation, we prosecute the accused person in Federal High Court. We have been talking to youth corps member (NYSC), because most of the youths these days usually dream and make up their minds to travel out of the country without thinking about the dangers. When they finish their service, their minds are how to travel to Europe. We have to educate and sensitise them so that they would not fall victims to these human traffickers, who are now the modern slave traders.”
The NAPTIP zonal commander also said since “Prevention is better than cure, NAPTIP has done a lots of preventive activities. We have been sensitising people and telling them about the evil of human trafficking. We have been making progress. We go to churches, schools, physically challenged schools, market women, traders association and other associations, they are our partners. We have been sensitising them. What we do on this platform is to tell people that human traffickers are slave traders. They will come and brainwash you, tell you lies about why you have to allow your daughters to travel abroad. We also told them about their systems. We also expose their new trend and strategy of traffickers to the public. “
“They will sell you as slaves to foreigners. They are doing organ sales. They will cash in on your financial situation to lure you into a dangerous act. They will harvest your organs. Traffickers will deceive you to sell your organ after which you will become ‘half’ human being. A young man can be able to run round a football pitch without getting tired. That’s the kind of people they want to harvest their organs. The girl victim from Benue State, Ochanya, who spoke to soldiers paid dearly for her action. Here, we are doing our best. Every Thursday we will hit the streets. We work both on Saturdays and Sundays.”
