The International Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies (FIIAPP) on Tuesday began a three-day training for officers of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) on strategies to fight human trafficking.
The Police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) are participating in the training.
The training was tagged: “Identification of perpetrators of human trafficking and smuggling of migrants in Nigeria’’.
Rafael-Rios Molina, the team leader for Action Against Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrant (A-TIPSOM) in Nigeria said that the training was to enhance of knowledge frontline officers on trafficking issues.
Malina said that it was also organised to improve the knowledge of the officers on identification, investigation and prosecution of suspected traffickers, their networking system and to manage culprits.
“A-TIPSOM is a project funded by the EU and implemented by FIIAPP with the aim of reducing the trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants at national and regional level and between Nigeria and the EU with specific emphasis on women and children.
“ATIPSOM believes that a global problem like trafficking in persons needs a global solution and for this reason, we are collaborating with NAPTIP, NIS and NPF, and also with the representative of the civil societies.
“The collaboration is to increase awareness among Nigerian youths about what trafficking in persons is all about and to also focus on protection of victims with the aim of getting more results,’’ he said.
Molina said that the project was aimed at getting more results against traffickers with the international criminal networks on investigations and for more effective cooperation both at regional and international level.
According to him, the participants are drawn from Sokoto, Katsina, Kano, Lagos, Ogun, Edo States and FCT.
Meanwhile, Mrs Caroline Adepoju, an Assistance Comptroller of Immigration, sought the support of FIIAPP on work tools and creation of front desk office in all the services’ formation to be able to discharge its duty.
Adepoju said that the creation of front desk offices, especially at the local government areas would help migrant to get the necessary information on regular migration.
“We need vehicles if possible, which will be emblem with short but direct messages on the effect of Smuggling of Migrant (SOM) and Trafficking in Persons (TIP), and which we can use to travel to the interiors, especially in the most endemic areas in our continuous effort and aggressive campaign.
“Hundreds of thousands of persons from Sub-Sahara Africa have been victims of exploitative or abusive employment and other transnational crimes bordering on SOM and TIP.
“The effect of these are devastating, smuggling of migrants is a serious criminal activity often harmful to migrants and broader implication for community crime levels.
“It results in the violation of human rights of persons, it increases corruption through bribery of officials and also leads to death of the migrants,’’ she said.
