THe National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Person (NAPTIP) has rescued 100 victims of child trafficking in the South-East region between January and June 2021.
This was disclosed by the Enugu Zonal Commander of NAPTIP, Mrs Nneka Ajie on Friday in Enugu during the celebration of the 2021 World Day Against Human Trafficking.
She said the victims who were mostly children were victims of sexual exploitation, child labour, violence, baby harvesting and others.
She said that a number of the rescued victims had been reunited with their families.
She disclosed that the issue of reuniting the victims with members of their families was a challenge as the agency would have to empower the victims.
“We are very limited in the area of empowerment and that is why we seek partnership to execute our mandate. We cannot do it alone,” she said.
She also said that no fewer than 50 suspected human traffickers were arrested within the same time, adding that some were being prosecuted.
Ajie said that incidences of human trafficking were endemic in the region, adding that the zone had been recognised as the place of origin, transit and destination for human traffickers.
“We mostly have the preponderance of sexual exploitation, followed closely by baby harvesting offenses and labour exploitation,” she said.
