The Delta State government said it is taking steps to tackle the issue of human trafficking in the state in efforts to reduce the activities to the barest minimum if not totally eliminated.
The Delta State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Ekemejero Ohwovoriole, SAN, stated this when the Zonal Commander of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, Edo State, Aganran Alao, paid a visit on Saturday in Asaba, the Delta State capital.
The Attorney-General said that the law was at the final stage at the State House of Assembly, adding that a public hearing on the law had been carried out.
He said, “The law is designed to compound issues for human traffickers, that as part of the recommendations of the law, properties of offenders of human trafficking will be applied to the benefits of the victim.”
He described as worrisome the reports and indications from NAPTIP that Delta State has overtaken Edo State as the number one state with the highest cases of human trafficking.
Earlier, Alao said that NAPTIP was a federal government agency created in 2003 by an Act of the National Assembly to fight human trafficking.
He listed other functions of the agency, including fighting against extortion, online crime, and scamming, among others.
Alao said that the agency was mandated with the powers to arrest and prosecute offenders of human trafficking and confiscate their assets, emphasizing that it had the power to cease their properties.
He said, “The agency has the power to rescue, rehabilitate, and integrate the survivors into society, and the survivors of the crime are our major consideration.
“We appeal to the Ministry of Justice to assist us with office accommodation in Asaba.”
