By Daniel Henry |
IN its quest to stem the tide of massive exploitation of Nigerians by traffickers who have continued to traffic them to some destination countries most especially Middle East and Arabian countries, the newly inaugurated Board of the Agency has vowed to tackle illegal recruitment of unsuspecting Nigerians for sexual and labour exploitation.
In a statement delivered by the Head, Press and Public Relations Unit, Stella Nezan, the Board promised to interface with the leadership of the recruitment agencies in Nigeria, officials of the Federal Ministry of Labour and other relevant Agencies, and the management of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) with a view to curtailing the disturbing phenomenon that has brought pains and agonies to many trafficked victims.
This was part of the resolutions of the first inaugural meeting of the Board held at the headquarters of the Agency presided over by the Chairman, Abubakar Usman Gotomo.
It would be recalled that the then Honourable Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, had on Tuesday 28th May, 2019, inaugurated Board of Agencies under the Ministry in line with the laid down procedures among which is NAPTIP Board.
Speaking after the presentation by the Director General, Dame Julie Okah – Donli, the Board Chairman, Abubakar Usman Gotomo, expressed sadness over the activities of the self – acclaimed licensed recruitment Agencies who have continued to ship innocent Nigerians to some of the destination Countries for exploitative purposes.
“I want to express the sadness of the entire Board over this dangerous and disturbing development where our promising youths both boys and girls are being massively recruited for exploitative purposes. Reports emanating from these destination countries are heartbreaking and we cannot fold our hands while our children are daily being destroyed,”
“The activities of these Labour Agencies as pointed out by the Director General is inimical to development of the nation, it is a setback to the fight against human trafficking and it just has to stop” the Board Chairman said.
Gotomo commended the NAPTIP DG for the modest achievements of the Agency since assumption especially in the areas of prosecution, awareness creation and advocacy among stakeholders globally.
In her presentation, DG, presented an overview of the activities of the Agency with emphasis on major challenges facing the Agency. She told the Board that the activities of some of the Labour recruitment Agencies are frustrating the fight against human trafficking in the country.
“I want to tell the entire Board members and Nigeria that the activities of some of these labour recruiters are frustrating the Federal Government’s fight against exploitation of our citizens. On daily basis, the Agency is being inundated with series of calls from distressed Nigerians in destination countries calling for help. They are being mindlessly exploited, harassed and even some of them killed by their so-called masters,”
“They refer to them as their slaves and as such they could do anything to them without any mercy. Just some hours ago, there is a new advert on the various social media platforms calling on Nigerians to apply for driving jobs in one of the Middle East countries. The said advert promised a lot unrealistic free offers that are totally false. This is another dimension in the exploitative trend that is designed to massively traffic the applicants for sexual exploitation, labour exploitation and even organ harvesting purposes.
“We have the responsibility to stop this development. These Agencies that are touting unverified recruitment license must be called to order.” NAPTIP DG said.
Equally, the agency has nabbed Two men over rape of school girls which involves the school Bursar. The statement revealed that, an installation Engineer, Festus Femi, 41, was arrested for alleged rape of three school pupils of the same secondary school and at different occasions.
The suspect, who hails from Ondo State, is married with two children and lives in Bwari Area Council of Abuja. His wife and children live in Ondo State. He was apprehended by men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and thereafter referred to NAPTIP for further investigations and prosecution.
The first victim, a thirteen (13) year old Junior Secondary 2 pupil in one of the secondary schools in the Federal Capital Territory, lives with her parents in Bwari. The victim stated that she met Festus through her classmate, who asked her in school to escort her to Festus’ house, and claimed he was her uncle. On getting to the house, her classmate and Festus went out briefly, and on their return she told the victim that Festus wanted to have sex with her. The victim’s refusal and pleas of being a virgin fell on deaf ears. Festus turned the volume of the sound system very high and raped her in the presence of her friend. He further threatened to kill her if she tells anyone. This left the victim so distraught that she attempted suicide.
The second victim according to the statement is a twelve (12) year old Junior Secondary 2 pupil who lives with her Aunt in Bwari. The same classmate took her to Festus’ house and told her that Festus wanted to have sex with her. On her refusal, Festus gave them money and told them to visit some other time. On a fateful day, she was on her way to her classmate’s house and met Festus on the way; he invited her to his house and raped her while she was waiting for her friend.
The third Victim, a fifteen (15) year old girl is the same person that introduced the other two victims to him. She stated that Festus was her former neighbour and each time he had sex with her, he gave her five hundred Naira. He also told her to bring girls for him and he would give her three thousand Naira. She stated that so far, she had brought 5 girls to him ranging from 12 to 15 years. She further corroborated the first victim’s story on the rape and threat to life.
In a related development, a 51-year-old bursar of Government secondary School Dangara, Abaji- Abuja, was also arrested by NAPTIP officials for allegedly drugging, raping and impregnating a 15-year-old student.
The suspect, Luke Gabriel Ekundayo, from Ilorin, Kwara State, was the victim’s guardian in school, and she spent short holidays in his house. The victim, a senior secondary three (SS3) student took ill in Ekundayo’s house, and upon taking some drugs administered to her by the suspect, she passed out. On waking up, she saw bloodstains and said she felt uneasy, but did not suspect that the school Bursar, whom her grandmother handed her over to, for protection, could do anything sinister to her.
The victim, an orphan who was on scholarship, was threatened by the suspect into having sex with him continuously, or he would tell her sponsors to stop paying her school fees. The rape continued until the victim got pregnant.
Reacting to the news of the arrest, NAPTIP DG condemned the actions of the two men, and said the action is in line with the name-and-shame policy of the Agency. She stated, “Rapists will be prosecuted for their crime against humanity and NAPTIP will not hesitate to bring the full wrath of the law on any rapist,”
She further frowned at the high rate of rape in the society, and cautioned school girls to be careful of the kind of friends they keep, warning that a lot of teenagers are led astray by fellow teenagers, who are unfortunately victims of the crime themselves.
The DG also admonished parents to “be careful of who they entrust their children with as it is unfortunate that the people who are meant to protect the children are the ones who end up exploiting and abusing them.”
She also commended the efforts of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps for arresting and referring the case to the Agency for proper prosecution, and used the opportunity to call on the public to report any rape case within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to NAPTIP.
