The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Representative to Nigeria, Oliver Stolpe on Monday urged the Federal Government to intensify efforts in the fight against human trafficking.
He made the call in Abuja at a workshop for the development of the National Plan of Action on Human Trafficking in Nigeria 2021 – 2025, sponsored by UNODC and the Swizerland Embassy.
He also advised the government to enhance the criminal justice response to the issue of trafficking in persons in Nigeria.
He said though the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons had detected 4,215 victims of trafficking in persons so far, the number of convictions remained comparatively low with 101.
Migration Adviser, Switzerland Embassy in Nigeria, Manuel Muhlebach, said trafficking in persons had been a major cause of human insecurity as it affected the lives of migrants in the most negative ways.
NAPTIP Director-General, Julie Okah-Donli, said the numerous achievements recorded by the agency were due to the 2009 – 2012 National Plan of Action that provided the much needed framework for a coordinated response to human trafficking.
