Human trafficking produces $30billion turnover annually-NAPTIP boss

 

 The National Agency for Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and Other Related Matters (NAPTIP) has raised the alarm over the increasing number of women and children involved in modern day slavery and prostitution globally.
NAPTIP Zonal Commander, Uyo command, Mr Peter Essien, who raised the alarm in a paper presentation during the nationwide stakeholders’ consultative forum, organised by the Ministry of Police Affairs in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital, disclosed that, according to available statistics, human trafficking ranks

the third most profitable crime the world over, with annual turnover of more than $30billion.
He said, according to the United States’ 2013 Trafficking in Persons’ report, no fewer than two million persons are trafficked annually and are forced into diverse forms of enslavements including hard labour and forced prostitution.
Emphasising on the need for urgent and robust frame work for national and human safety and security in Nigeria, Essien said available statistics shows that large number of Nigerian women and girls are held in sex slavery in other countries, disclosing that over 60 per cent of foreign prostitutes in Italy hail from Africa and majority coming from Nigeria.
“According to Italian Anti-Mafia bureau estimates, there are over 20, 000 Nigerian women involved in prostitution in Italy alone, with varying numbers from other countries in Europe.
“Large numbers of Nigerian girls are also held in sex slavery in other countries in West Africa such as; Benin Republic, Ghana, Cote D’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger Republic. In 2011, NAPTIP evacuated 104 Nigerian victims of sex slavery from camps in Mali.
“UNICEF estimates that more than three million Nigerian children are involved in child labour; working as domestic servants, street beggars and street traders in plantations as well as sex industry within the country,” Essien stressed.
According to Essien, the zone under his command which comprises of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River and Rivers States is a source, transit and destination area for human trafficking, saying that the zone experiences internal and external trafficking of children and women on a daily basis; from rural to urban centres and across the country, both for purposes of exploitation under slave-like condition.
He said no fewer than 2, 000 people are trafficked annually from the zone, even as five persons out of the 104 evacuated from Mali were from the zone.
In a paper entitled: ‘National Policy on Public Safety and Security; The Perspective of NAPTIP,’ the commander stated that human trafficking is a serious threat to national security and safety as the huge profits from the crime are being channeled into funding other crimes such as; drug trafficking, arms smuggling and terrorism.
He called for the combat of human trafficking to be made national priority and should be mainstreamed into national development plan.
Essien, further called on all ties of government and the general public to consciously and sustainably programme and budget for counter-trafficking activities as well as involve in active collaboration with NAPTIP’s initiatives and programmes towards combating the scourge.