The Director-General, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Dr Fatima Waziri-Azi, said the agency was also closing-in on travel agents and tour operators involved in the recruitment of Nigerians for labour outside the country.
She said that many of these agencies are operating, trafficking children to outside Nigeria to different form of labour without obtaining the requisite clearance certificates from NAPTIP.
She explained that many have hide under the façade of being a travel agent, tour operator or recruiter of labour to deceive, defraud, and lure naïve victims to foreign countries for the purpose of exploiting them.
Waziri-Azi said that some of the labour work these children passed through are sexual exploitation, forced labour, debt bondage, slavery and that organs of some of these children are removed.
According to her, the Trafficking in Persons (Control of Activities of Organisations and Centres) Regulations 2019 which is fully operational, gives NAPTIP the powers to regulate, control and scrutinise all travels as categorized by the regulation and ensure that the intent and purpose of such person embarking on the travel are genuine.
