From Yakubu Busari, Jos
Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State
Involving all stakeholders in a united action to tackle the crime of trafficking in human beings would open new vistas of partnership in the country and abroad, the Director General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim has said.
The DG disclosed this when she met with Governor Simon Lalong in Abuja to seek ways of collaboration in her new task.
She said the Agency has commenced a wider consultation with state governments and other critical stakeholders in building a solid platform for preventive approach to the fight against trafficking. This she said was the best way to go because the situation where victims are traumatised and negatively affected before rehabilitation is reactive and does not go far.
The NAPTIP boss said it was cheaper and more profitable for human trafficking rings to be identified and disrupted while the victims are protected from undergoing harrowing experiences with some of them losing their lives.
She commended Governor Lalong for being one of the first in the country to sign into law the VAAP Act and Child’s Rights Law which are major instruments for the fight against human trafficking and other violent crimes against children and other persons.
Governor Lalong who congratulated the NAPTIP boss over her appointment said the issue of human trafficking has taken many dimensions with various individuals and organised groups participating to make profit from the misfortune of others.
He said the situation is made worse by poverty, ignorance and greed where even some parents abdicate their responsibilities by putting their children in harm’s way in a bid to make money.
Lalong, however, assured the NAPTIP DG that he will not only support her efforts in Plateau State, but will use his position as the Chairman, Northern Governor’s Forum to mobilise his colleagues towards enhancing the work of the Agency.
