The issue of safety of our children was a major concern in a recent report which indicated that, 24 Nigerian girls trafficked to Senegal and were being used as sex slaves in the Tamaccounda and Kedougou Regions of Senegal were rescued by operatives in the Nigerian Embassy in conjunction with a non-governmental organization. The successful rescue operation was carried out overnight.
The report further stated that the Ambassador of the Nigerian Embassy in Dakar, Senegal, Salihu Abubakar, stated that the girls – mostly under aged – were between 11, 13 and 24 years. In his word, he stated that, “These girls and many more are being trafficked to Senegal, through Cotonou, Benin Republic via Mali to the Senegal border for prostitution”.
The preliminary investigation, according to the diplomat, revealed that most of the girls were school dropouts from Edo and Delta, Imo and Abia while two others were from Plateau States. All the girls have been repatriated to Nigeria which he attributed to the strengthened international cooperation in combating human trafficking between the embassy and the Senegalese-based NGO, La Lumiere in French (Free the Slaves).
He further stated that, “Our main goal and number one priority is to discourage the trafficking of our Nigerian girls to any part of the world for prostitution under any disguise,” Mr Abubakar said.
We must underscore the fact that, human trafficking is one of the trans-border criminal businesses around the world today. The nature of this crime is so deceptive and destructive. Unsuspecting children – even some adults – are lured by dangling beautiful job opportunities that would fetch them cheap money and better life. It could be outside the immediate communities or outside the country.
Last year, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), said it recorded some breakthroughs in its operations by releasing several victims of trafficking. For instance, it stated that it secured the release of 470 victims in Katsina alone last year.
Also, recent reports indicate that beside sex slavery, children trafficked are used for cheap labour to their madams or masters for the traffickers.
Worst still, the trade in organ harvesting is on the increase. Many victims of trafficking have their human parts harvested for onward sale to ritualists for different purposes. While some use the organs for money rituals, others use them to prepare charms for diabolical powers, especially by influential politicians and elites in our society.
Because of the lucrative nature of this illicit crime that incorporates drugs, Indian hemp, cannabis; the caliber of persons, corporate bodies and institutions that are involved, it has been very difficult problems to tackle. For instance, there are several reports that point at the involvement or culpability of security operatives and orphanage homes.
At the root cause of this heinous and inhuman crimes are poverty, poor education, lack of awareness, crave for quick wealth among our people.
The effort of the Nigerian embassy in Senegal and the NGO is commendable. While we acknowledge some efforts made by NAPTIP in some reports, we still want to state that the agency has more work to do in terms of strategic and consistent public awareness campaign. There is also the need for increased interagency collaboration, training and retraining of personnel.
Most importantly, for the love and protection of the Nigerian children and citizens, the federal government needs to strengthen NAPTIP, pay greater attention towards restructuring and empowering it as the agency responsible for enforcing anti-trafficking law in Nigeria.