Group Seeks Media Support To Combat Human Trafficking

A Civil Society Group, “Action Against Trafficking in Persons Cluster”, has called for media synergy to combat trafficking in persons.
The group’s Programmes Director, Timothy Ejeh, made the call when he led a delegation to an advocacy engagement with the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Council Chairman, Mr Emmanuel Ogbeche in Abuja, recently.
Ejeh said the initiative was anchored by the Justice Development and Peace Commission (JDPC) of the Archdiocese of Abuja, with the aim of implementing the Strengthening Civic Advocacy and Local Engagement (SCALE) component 4 projects titled “Galvanising Action for Effective countering of Trafficking in Persons Regime in Nigeria” .
According to him, its major aim is to seek increased funding for the focal agency – NAPTIP,  reactivation of victims of Trafficking Trust Fund and improved prosecution of traffickers.
He explained that the initiative comprised of six CSOs, the  JDPC, Earth Spring Intl, Children Against Child Abuse (CACA), Health/Justice Development and Peace Initiative (H/JDPI), Federation of Muslim Women Association in Nigeria (FOMWAN) and CEDARSEED Foundation.
The Programmes Director said the meeting would help to get the union’s buy-in into the SCALE Project currently being implemented
“We have discovered that the focus of the local government agency that is saddled with the responsibility of tackling trafficking of persons have some gaps in doing their jobs.
“We feel that we can come and support them to be able to deliver on their mandate because there is a whole lot they have been saddled with which is NAPTIP.
“We have discovered that they are severally underfunded and when you do not have funding, you do not have manpower and won’t be able to achieve any results.
“One of our advocacy acts is to push for reforms to see how NAPTIP can be properly funded to be able to carry out the mandate given to them by the government.
“We have also discovered that there is this weak political drive towards the prosecution of traffickers,” he said.
Ejeh added that a whole lot of traffickers were out there and nobody was pushing to ensure arrest and confiscating the process of trafficking.