The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has reiterated determination to support Federal Government to tackle human trafficking.
Mr Danilo Campisi, the UNODC acting Country Representative in Nigeria, made this known during the opening session of a five-day capacity building and training workshop on “Reporting Tools for Human Trafficking.”
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the training was organised for officers of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to review data collection instruments for reporting and implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP) on Human Trafficking (2022-2026).
Campisi said that “the primary aim of the workshop is to equip NAPTIP officers and CSOs with necessary skills and knowledge to implement the NAP, and draw their commitment into turning `Policy to Action.
“UNODC wants to enhance stakeholder coordination, improve data collection and analysis and develop gender-sensitive approach to combating human trafficking.
“By fostering comprehensive understanding of the NAP among stakeholders and developing their competencies, we are laying the groundwork for robust and coordinated response to human trafficking cases across Nigeria.”
The acting country representative commended NAPTIP “for its relentless efforts and achievements over the years.
I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the government of Switzerland for its generous support during the first and second phases of this project.”
He urged the training participants to continue to work to free Nigeria from the scourge of human trafficking.
Mr Christian Brugger, the Migration Adviser, Embassy of Switzerland, said that “the focus of the project lies so much on collaboration of stakeholders.
“Switzerland is supporting the project financially within the stated year 2022-2026.
The collaboration of stakeholders will assist in winning the war against human trafficking.”
Brugger also urged participants to work toward implementing the NAP within the year under focus.
Mr Josiah Emerole, the NAPTIP Director of Research, Programme and Development, said that the capacity building came at an auspicious time when the agency was focusing on evidence-based
programmes.
He added that the programme was also coming at a time when the present administration of President Bola Tinubu was focusing on performance from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
The director explained that evidence-based performance was part of the condition President Tinubu signed with the ministers, adding that the measure propels data collection, analysis and dissemination.
He said that the goodwill of NAPTIP Director-General, Prof. Fatima Waziri-Azi, attracted the project, while thanking her for the opportunity, as well as UNODC and Switzerland authority for lending a supporting hand.
The NAPTIP boss also thanked the Swiss authorities and UNODC for their support to Nigeria in combating human trafficking, adding that their steadfast commitment was deeply appreciated.
She recalled that the agency initiated an in-house review of its data collection instruments and the template used for national data collection on on human trafficking in December 2023.
Waziri-Azi noted that the review was crucial to ensure that tools were comprehensive and reflective of current realities in the field of counter-trafficking, to ensure standardisation.
She added that “reliable data is crucial to identifying trends, allocate resources and craft evidence-based strategies that are impactful toward the detection and elimination of the heinous crime of human trafficking.” (NAN)
