The Federal Government has announced plans to prosecute parents and transporters involved in human trafficking in Nigeria.
Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, disclosed this in Abuja, when she paid a courtesy visit to Fatima Waziri-Azi, the Director-General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).
Kennedy-Ohanenye, who noted that prosecution of traffickers would reduce perpetrators, highlighted the alarming rise in parental involvement in trafficking, emphasizing that those caught will face severe legal actions.
She expressed worry on the fact that some parents often negotiate with traffickers before arranging transportation for their children.
“Our children deserve to be loved and cared for, not traded. The President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led Administration is determined to rid our society of such heinous crimes, which contravene both our African culture and global norms,” she stated.
The Minister called for stronger collaboration with NAPTIP to provide information on the return of Nigerian girls abducted to Ghana for prostitution and related cases.
She assured that the Ministry, in collaboration with the Open University of Nigeria on a subsidized tuition fees, would support the academic pursuits of the rescued girls and provide them with access to available benefits.
In response, Waziri-Azi confirmed that the girls have been rescued, their abductors arrested, while the girls would soon return to Nigeria for rehabilitation and re-integration into the society.
She emphasized that NAPTIP, in collaboration with the Ministry, will adopt a systematic approach to prevent future occurrences.
In a related development, the Minister earlier visited the Ghanaian High Commission in Nigeria to obtain updated information on the whereabouts of the trafficked girls.
It was earlier reported that 10 Nigerian girls were rescued from human traffickers in Ghana and Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) assured they were in safe custody and would be returning home by next week.
The girls, eight from Imo State and two from Plateau State were freed following the arrest of the suspect, who is currently in custody. The girls, according to reports were trafficked to Ghana for sexual exploitation.