• Home
  • Anti-Corruption
  • Fact-Check
  • Economy
  • National
    • Government
  • Security
  • Features
  • State
  • Event
    • PR Nigeria Award
  • E-Paper
Search
  • Home
  • About
  • Adverts
  • Contact
Sign in
Welcome! Log into your account
Forgot your password? Get help
Password recovery
Recover your password
A password will be e-mailed to you.
PRNIGERIA PRNigeria News
PRNIGERIA PRNIGERIA
  • Home
  • Anti-Corruption
    • Engr Abba Babagana Dalori

      Engr Dalori Forfeits Galaxy Hospital, Petrol Station, Properties & Cash

      Chinese nationals jailed in Lagos

      Court Jails Nine Chinese Nationals for Cybercrime in Lagos

      ASUU

      Tackle Corruption, Institutional Decay – ASUU Charges FG

      EFCC Arraigns Bauchi Accountant General Over N8bn Fraud as Court Sentences…

      PRNigeria logo fearured image

      EFCC Arraigns Ex-Convict, Other for Naira Abuse in Lagos

  • Fact-Check
  • Economy
    • Acting Controller General of Customs, Nigerian Customs Services, NSC, Ag. CG Bashir Adewale Adeniyi

      Adeniyi Inaugurates Lagos School Renovated by Nigeria Customs 

      Abdullahi Aliyu Maiwada

      Customs’ Maiwada Named Among Nigeria’s 50 Most Influential PR Voices

      Acting Controller General of Customs, Nigerian Customs Services, NSC, Ag. CG Bashir Adewale Adeniyi

      Customs Exposes Scam Over Form M Migration to B’Odogwu Platform

      CBN

      The Facts About Nigeria’s Debts Burden Under Tinubu’s Watch By Zekeri…

      Ibrahim Yahaya Dandakata of Arewa Economic Forum AEF

      AEF Slams CBN’s New BDC Policy, Cites Threat to Northern Economy…

  • National
    • Nnamdi Kanu of IPOB arrested by Nigerian security services

      Nnamdi Kanu’s Threat to Break Up Nigeria Was Deliberate, FG Insists

      NUJ election

      NUJ Urges Constitutional Backing for Journalists, Proposes Media Bailout Fund

      Tinubu Appoints IBB’s Son as Chairman, Bank of Agriculture, Names Heads…

      Bashir Adewale Adeniyi Customs Boss

      In Rivers, Customs Hands Over N20.5bn Worth of Fake Drugs to…

      Military Troops in Action

      COUNTER-TERRORISM OPERATIONS: Troops Arrest Terrorists Collaborators, Eliminate Scores, Seize Weapons, Rescue…

    • Government
      • IPRA GWA

        IPRA Calls on UN to Curb Misinformation from AI and Social…

        Nnamdi Kanu of IPOB arrested by Nigerian security services

        Nnamdi Kanu’s Threat to Break Up Nigeria Was Deliberate, FG Insists

        NUJ election

        NUJ Urges Constitutional Backing for Journalists, Proposes Media Bailout Fund

        Tinubu Appoints IBB’s Son as Chairman, Bank of Agriculture, Names Heads…

        Late President Muhammadu Buhari

        Critique of Renaming University of Maiduguri after Muhammadu Buhari By Dr…

  • Security
    • Nnamdi Kanu of IPOB arrested by Nigerian security services

      Nnamdi Kanu’s Threat to Break Up Nigeria Was Deliberate, FG Insists

      Nigerian Police Force

      Benue Police Nab Notorious Arms Traffickers, Recover Rocket Launcher, AK-47 Rifles,…

      Bashir Adewale Adeniyi Customs Boss

      In Rivers, Customs Hands Over N20.5bn Worth of Fake Drugs to…

      Military Troops in Action

      COUNTER-TERRORISM OPERATIONS: Troops Arrest Terrorists Collaborators, Eliminate Scores, Seize Weapons, Rescue…

      Lord Jonathan Marland, Chairman of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC), and Ministry of Defence Perm Sec Ambassador Gabriel Tanimu Aduda

      UK-Nigeria Pact to Drive Defence Innovation, Joint Ventures

  • Features
    • Late President Muhammadu Buhari

      Critique of Renaming University of Maiduguri after Muhammadu Buhari By Dr…

      Late President Muhammadu Buhari

      Buhari’s Shocker: I look Forward to Leaving, and when it’s …

      Buhari: The Soldier Who Couldn’t Conquer Democracy By Umar Farouk Bala

      Gen Lucky Irabor and Muhammadu Buhari

      Beyond the Public Gaze: Gen Irabor’s Intimate Farewell to Buhari

      Vice Admiral Awwal Z Gambo and Late President Muhammadu Buhari

      Tribute to the Late Former President Buhari, By Vice Admiral Awwal…

  • State
    • IPRA GWA

      IPRA Calls on UN to Curb Misinformation from AI and Social…

      Nigerian Police Force

      Benue Police Nab Notorious Arms Traffickers, Recover Rocket Launcher, AK-47 Rifles,…

      Bashir Adewale Adeniyi Customs Boss

      In Rivers, Customs Hands Over N20.5bn Worth of Fake Drugs to…

      Nigerian Navy

      Navy Hands Over Seized 1,575kg of Indian Hemp to NDLEA in…

      Nigerian Police Force

      Notorious Bandit Kingpin, Abubakar Magaji Arrested in Sokoto, Gun, Ammunition Recovered

  • Event
    • Dr Dr. Omoniyi Ibietan of NCC

      APRA Secretary General Omoniyi Ibietan Named ‘PR Change Maker’

      Prof Saudat Abdulbaqi

      Prof Saudat Abdulbaqi Makes History as First Female Dean of UniIlorin’s…

      Late Oba Sikiru Adetona and Late President Muhammadu Buhari

      Oba Sikiru Adetona: The Day Ijebu Lost Its Lion By Tahir…

      President & Chairman of Governing Council, Dr. Ike Neliaku

      On World PR Day, NIPR Charts Bold Path to National Renewal

      Late President Muhammadu Buhari

      Northwest Governors Mourn Buhari, Declare Tuesday Public Holiday

    • PR Nigeria Award
  • E-Paper
Home Features Curbing Human Trafficking Through Intelligence Gathering In Nigeria
  • Features

Curbing Human Trafficking Through Intelligence Gathering In Nigeria

By
Victor Buoro
-
June 28, 2022
Trafficked Children

Curbing Human Trafficking Through Intelligence Gathering In Nigeria

By Victor Buoro

Globally acknowledged as a high-profit but low-risk criminal activity, human trafficking has unfortunately gained attention as the modern-day form of slavery that is expanding in scale with damaging repercussions on humanity and nations’ economic lives.

And going by the definition that; “Human Trafficking is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of people through force, fraud or deception, with the aim of exploiting them for profit”, it is currently ranked among the fastest growing criminal activities across the globe, comparable to the smuggling of firearms that is considered the second most organized criminal network worldwide.

In recent times, with different interpretations by national governments and experts in criminology, human trafficking has generated a great deal of concerns among stakeholders because of its adverse impact on social lives and the human race.

The threat is becoming more alarming in Nigeria with sordid tales by returnees from Libya and Italy among other foreign countries. Unfortunately, men, women and children of all ages and from all backgrounds have become victims of this crime, which occurs in every region of the world.

And being a transnational crime that is fast ruining the country’s image within the African continent and beyond, this criminal activity has continued to degrade and dehumanise the victims; fuel public sector corruption and irregular migration; aid the spread of COVID-19, HIV/AIDS, and other communicable diseases while also promoting money laundering and other financial crimes that clearly distort the nation’s economy.

Regrettably, parents and guardians have become too busy and sometimes so uncaring to effectively monitor the activities of their children and wards or even notice the glaring antics and pranks that are obviously risk-infested and portend danger to themselves and the immediate family.

A situation where children, teenagers, youths and even adults, embark on irrelevant expeditions, secret trips and visits without, but sometimes with, the knowledge of their parents or other family members have been identified as one of the major risk factors that have made many vulnerable while exposing them and their loved ones to avoidable hurt.

Painfully, in their overzealousness, many have deliberately ignored the security tips and public advisory regularly issued by the Department of State Services (DSS) and other law enforcement agencies that urge caution by members of the public, specifically applicants to always guard against falling prey to so-called juicy jobs’ adverts that do not contain comprehensive information on location, specifications and schedules; shun the temptation of subscribing to vague visas and overseas travel promotions that could be the handiwork of human traffickers and scammers or their agents.

Importantly too, verifying information before acting on any calls about untoward incidents involving family members, colleagues, relatives or friends cannot be overstressed; just as the need to careful visiting new friends or meeting colleagues at unfamiliar or unspecified locations; and restraint in dishing out and advertising vital personal information on social media platforms.

Similarly, stories are abound where some individuals have inadvertently exposed themselves to danger by standing in as guarantors and sureties for people who may have changed over time, thereby becoming agents that aid and abet the criminal activities of society’s bad eggs.

Given the sophistication, secrecy and ‘value chain’ in organised crime which human trafficking has evidently become, synergy among security and law enforcement agencies as well as partnership with the public cannot be overemphasized. However, making the matter a bit more complicated is the fact that some unscrupulous elements within the security agencies and even greedy parents and relations are supportive and in cohort with those perpetuating this criminal activity across the country.

Read Also:

  • IPRA Calls on UN to Curb Misinformation from AI and Social Media
  • Nnamdi Kanu’s Threat to Break Up Nigeria Was Deliberate, FG Insists
  • ‎FACT-CHECK: Was Obi Ever Pictured Having Coffee with Gen Sani Abacha at the Presidential Villa?

With the way things are going globally, adopting Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to combat human trafficking should also be the way to go by the Nigerian authorities. Though no technology can be termed perfect or full proof, there is no denying the fact that with conscious efforts, any technology, would over time, evolve with improvement to make it more relevant and responsive in tackling existing as well as emerging challenges associated with this modern day ‘slave trade’ and other related crimes.

Pointedly, security agencies like the DSS have not relented in their collaboration with relevant government establishments to give human trafficking syndicates tough times running their criminal activities. In January this year, the Service was on hand assisting NAPTIP to rescue a Burundian woman and her three children from traffickers in Umunoha village, Mbaitoli Council of Imo State where they were being held captive and exploited.

The victims were rescued during a sting operation carried out on their holding mud house by the combined team of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and the Department of State Services (DSS). Thanks to a tipoff by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), the four foreigners duly regained their freedom from where they were cramped under inhuman conditions.

Without making much fuss about it in the public domain, the Service has continued to play active part in bursting child trafficking syndicates across the country with its various State Commands recording huge success in stemming the tide of their criminal activities.

Recalled an incident on July 6, 2015 where four suspects were arrested and the victims, comprising 12 males and 24 females, rescued from homes in Yenagoa and Kaiama in Bayelsa, Port Harcourt, and Enugu-Agidi in Anambra, having been forcefully turned into house helps.

As indicated in their public advisory, most disturbing is the fact that the suspected syndicates sometimes operate under the guise of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) that usually approach parents and convinced them to release their wards under the pretext of assisting the children to acquire good education only for such kids to end up as house helps and sometimes worst as sex slaves.

Forward looking, it is important to support the position canvassed by many well-meaning individuals and groups that human trafficking offenders and perpetrators should serve sentences commensurable with the magnitude of offences committed to send the appropriate message as a major deterrent to culprits.

Concerns have also arisen that a situation where some offenders often escape justice with light sentencing has led to cases of repeat offenders now posing a grave danger to the dimension of human trafficking in the Country.

Therefore, continuous citizens’ sensitization and awareness creation on how to curb the menace are very crucial. This is against the backdrop that the inherent fear of reprisals cannot be ignored since many victims and their families are afraid to come forward and incident cases, amid the limited enforcement resources and shifting legislation coherent enough to address this thriving crime.

Hammering on the need for continuous enlightenment and sensitisation in the local communities nationwide, one DSS official said; “There is need therefore for members of the public to be sensitized on the need to be circumspect in the way they give out children or take in children from such unscrupulous modern day slave traders.”

Certainly, these routes are the way to go in effectively addressing operational and other existing challenges in the fight against human trafficking.

On the whole, relevant government establishments like NAPTIP, security and law enforcement agencies, the judiciary and Intelligence Community, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Faith Based Organisations (FBOs) and traditional institutions as well as international bodies must embrace and deploy robust partnership as a strategy to check and eventually suppress the crime of human trafficking in the country.

With subdued optimism, this collaboration should help calm the frayed nerves and broken spirit of most victims, always left in a pitiable traumatic state to nurse wounds inflicted on them by heartless and exploitative traffickers, who often are erroneously or unintentionally pampered with light sentencing by the courts.

So the ball is in the court of judicial officers to compliment the works of security and related agencies by always considering the victims’ plight and exploitation in deciding cases of human trafficking rather than over relying on the salient technicalities that often deny them adequate justice.

Victor Buoro writes from Abuja

VISIT OUR OTHER WEBSITES
PRNigeria.com EconomicConfidential.com PRNigeria.com/Hausa/
EmergencyDigest.com PoliticsDigest.ng TechDigest.ng
HealthDigest.ng SpokesPersonsdigest.com TeensDigest.ng
ArewaAgenda.com Hausa.ArewaAgenda.com YAShuaib.com
  • TAGS
  • CSOs
  • FBOs
  • Human Trafficking
  • Intelligence
Previous articleIPC Decries Detention, Harassment Of Wikki Times Publisher, Reporter
Next articleNOUN appoints new Registrar, Bursar, Librarian
Victor Buoro
Victor Buoro

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

‎FACT-CHECK: Was Obi Ever Pictured Having Coffee with Gen Sani Abacha at the Presidential Villa?

Abdullahi Aliyu Maiwada

Customs’ Maiwada Named Among Nigeria’s 50 Most Influential PR Voices

Late President Muhammadu Buhari

Critique of Renaming University of Maiduguri after Muhammadu Buhari By Dr Umar Ardo

Late President Muhammadu Buhari

Buhari’s Shocker: I look Forward to Leaving, and when it’s time, I go to my Grave By Femi Adesina

University of Maiduguri

JUST IN: Tinubu Renames UNIMAID After Muhammadu Buhari

Military Troops

BLOODY OPERATION: Troops Crush Terror Gangs, Block N291m Oil Theft

The Director of Defence Media Operations, Major-General Markus Kangye,

NURTW Members Caught Smuggling Military Uniforms for Terrorists in Borno

General Adamu Garba Laka

FG Dismisses Turkey’s Claim of FETO Terrorist Group Presence in Nigeria, Urges Calm

WPRD 2025: PRCAN Chair Nkechi Ali-Balogun Urges PR Practitioners to Be Bridge-Builders

Buhari: The Soldier Who Couldn’t Conquer Democracy By Umar Farouk Bala

Nigeria Bids Farewell as Former President Muhammadu Buhari Laid to Rest in Daura

BREAKING: Nigeria Bids Farewell as Former President Muhammadu Buhari Laid to Rest in Daura

Gen Lucky Irabor and Muhammadu Buhari

Beyond the Public Gaze: Gen Irabor’s Intimate Farewell to Buhari

Recent Posts

  • IPRA Calls on UN to Curb Misinformation from AI and Social Media
  • Nnamdi Kanu’s Threat to Break Up Nigeria Was Deliberate, FG Insists
  • ‎FACT-CHECK: Was Obi Ever Pictured Having Coffee with Gen Sani Abacha at the Presidential Villa?
  • NUJ Urges Constitutional Backing for Journalists, Proposes Media Bailout Fund
  • Benue Police Nab Notorious Arms Traffickers, Recover Rocket Launcher, AK-47 Rifles, Ammunition
  • Home
  • About
  • Adverts
  • Contact
© 2020 PRNigeria. All Rights Reserved.
Latest News
IPRA Calls on UN to Curb Misinformation from AI and Social MediaNnamdi Kanu’s Threat to Break Up Nigeria Was Deliberate, FG Insists‎FACT-CHECK: Was Obi Ever Pictured Having Coffee with Gen Sani Abacha at the Presidential Villa?NUJ Urges Constitutional Backing for Journalists, Proposes Media Bailout FundBenue Police Nab Notorious Arms Traffickers, Recover Rocket Launcher, AK-47 Rifles, AmmunitionTinubu Appoints IBB's Son as Chairman, Bank of Agriculture, Names Heads of Key AgenciesIn Rivers, Customs Hands Over N20.5bn Worth of Fake Drugs to NAFDACCOUNTER-TERRORISM OPERATIONS: Troops Arrest Terrorists Collaborators, Eliminate Scores, Seize Weapons, Rescue Captives Across N'EastAdeniyi Inaugurates Lagos School Renovated by Nigeria Customs UK-Nigeria Pact to Drive Defence Innovation, Joint VenturesCustoms' Maiwada Named Among Nigeria’s 50 Most Influential PR VoicesCritique of Renaming University of Maiduguri after Muhammadu Buhari By Dr Umar ArdoFULL TEXT: President Tinubu Extols Muhammadu Buhari at Special FEC SessionAgain, FG Postpone Recruitment into Paramilitary AgenciesBuhari's Shocker: I look Forward to Leaving, and when it's time, I go to my Grave By Femi Adesina
X whatsapp