Northern borders now human trafficking hotbed – NAPTIP

Forum 10 months ago

Northern borders now human trafficking hotbed – NAPTIP

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons has raised the alarm about the increasing activities of human traffickers operating through northern borders.

The Director-General of NAPTIP, Prof. Fatima Waziri-Azi, disclosed this while speaking exclusively with The PUNCH on the sidelines of the just concluded inaugural joint technical working group meeting on a memorandum signed between Nigeria and The Gambia, which was held in Abuja.

Waziri-Azi said it had been observed that human traffickers were now favouring the northern borders as opposed to the southern borders that used to be their haven.

Waziri said, “Historically, traffickers used border points in the southern part of the country like the Seme border to smuggle people out of Nigeria, but in the past five years, traffickers have moved from the South-West region of Nigeria to the North-West region of the country.

“So, we see a lot of trafficking happening through Jibia border in Katsina State, through Sokoto, Zamfara, Kongolom, a border town with Niger Republic and Zinder and Agadez in Niger Republic.”

She expressed the readiness to tackle the menace through collaborations with relevant stakeholders.