The National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and Other Related Matters has called on the Federal Government to increase and regularise funding for the agency.
A former Director of Research and Programme Development of the agency and a consultant, Mr. Godwin Morka, made this plea during a media training tagged, ‘Countering Trafficking in Persons’ organised by the Justice Development and Peace Commission in collaboration with NAPTIP.
Morka noted that the organisation’s challenges were many, and its funding poor compared to its tasks.
He said, “Our challenges are enormous; our funding is inadequate for this kind of job we are expected to do.
“There is the need to change the envelope system; it cannot work for us. We need to be classified as a proper security agency because our job is similar to others.
“There is a need to effectively fund the budget of the NAPTIP to enable it to deliver on its mandate, allow its presence in the 774 local governments, empower the agency to recruit more personnel across the nation, and work more with the immigration service to monitor the flow of migrants where necessary strategically.
“The government needs to stop gambling with the leadership of the agency. The appointment of three Director Generals for NAPTIP in less than six months is not good for stability. A leader needs to settle down and needs time to work and execute projects.”
He added, “Available data shows that more than one million Nigerians are trapped in Mali, Cotonou, Libya, Chad, and other European nations.
“Out of this figure, 50,000 Nigerian girls are believed to be Victims of Human Trafficking.”
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