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- legal working framework underway
From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has entered into partnership with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to strengthen the fight against human trafficking and drug abuse in Nigeria.
However, work has commenced on a mutually beneficial legal framework that will define the working relationship between the two agencies in order to enhance seamless joint operation, intelligence sharing, and cooperation.
The agreement was reached when the Director General of NAPTIP, Binta Adamu Bello, paid him a courtesy visit to NDLEA headquarters, in Abuja.
Vincent Adekoye, Press Officer, NAPTIP, in a statement noted that the visit was part of the NAPTIP’s ongoing strategic engagement with key sister agencies to strengthen institutional collaboration, share knowledge and harmonize our operations where our mandates intersect.
He said: “This visit represents our desire to deepen the long standing relationship between our two agencies. In today’s security landscape, the complexities of crime, particularly organized transnational crime, require that we work in closer synergy.
“Drug trafficking and human trafficking are increasingly interconnected both globally and locally. In many instances, victims of human trafficking, especially women and children, are used as drug couriers.”
The NAPTIP Director General, Dr. Binta Adamu Bello, informed the NDLEA boss that human trafficking victims are often drugged or subjected to substance abuse as a method of control, coercion, or subjugation by traffickers. Furthermore, both crimes thrive on similar enablers.
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“Intelligence reports have shown overlaps in networks operating in both spheres, hence the urgent need for a coordinated response”, the Director General of NAPTIP stated.
While lamenting the plight of human trafficking victims in the Country, the NDLEA Chief Executive described NAPTIP as a very important and critical Agency in the fight against human trafficking in Nigeria that deserves the support of all.
He described the appointment of the NAPTIP Director General as a strategic step in the fight against human trafficking in Nigeria, lauded her for turning the heat on the traffickers by hiting the ground running, and for her proactive operations and interventions which have resulted in the arrest of several traffickers and rescue of many victims.
