By Ibrahim Shuaibu
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Kano State zonal office yesterday said 1,489 people have been rescued within four years.
The Zonal Commander of the agency, Mr. Shehu Umar, told journalists yesterday that no fewer than 116 human traffickers have been arrested, said the command received 1,516 cases which involved 1,014 human trafficking acts which involved both internal and external.
Umar explained that the cases included 117 child abuse, 75 child labour, 109 sexual abuse, 13 rape cases and 188 other cases on Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP Act) from 2016 to July 2020, including 473 males and 1,028 females.
He revealed that the command received 8,777 deportees that arrived in Kano through the MAKIA, which included 3,708 males and 5,069 females.
“The command arrested 91 male suspects, 25 female suspects, rescued 1,022 females, 467 male victims between the ages of six and 25 within the period under review.
“We still have nine pending cases, eight in Federal High Court, one in Appeal Court, six new cases to be filed, and secured 20 convictions from 2016 till date,” Umar stated.
He said of the 107 rescued victims, five are from Niger Republic and one from Ghana.
“I believe that with more funds, we would do better; we need to move from analogue to digital system of operation to improve our investigation capabilities.
“We are facing the problems of inadequate data on human trafficking. Many rape victims do not report cases, and the absence of officers of the command at airports and borders are also challenges facing the agency,” he said.
